Writing on the Body

On Jan. 9, henna artist Lila Sideras visited the Grrls class. We wrote on our bodies with this magical paste...

Body Language

the stories on the skin and hair
the organs shifting and beating within
who says what?

Kimi Shimmy, A Heroine

She can hover above the ground. She's light. She laughs. But she doesn't look the other way. You can hear her coming. The slight buzz of her wings...and then her whisper, building, the crescendo, the clarity of a song. There's inspiration here. This isn't a sermon. She holds up mirrors--hundreds and thousands of them. Twinkling. "Look at yourselves." Arrows on the mirrors point to the heart. All the hearts. Your heart. "Do no harm." There are dogs on chains. She frees them and lays a soft hand behind their ears. They roll to their backs, full of tongues. There are men staggering between the rows of traffic. She leads them to shelter, waits while they clean up, helps them fill out job applications. Those mirrors. She stops traffic. She pushes out the bicycles. Soon the whole city is riding, the air is grateful, the skies go to blue. She stands in front of the shopping malls, dancing. People watch, fall in love with the mirrors, which show them at home, around the table, making food, conversing, communing, reading, singing, making. The people spin on their heels, forget about shopping, and go home to replicate the scenes they viewed in the mirrors. She does the same. She makes clothing from recycled fabrics, tends her garden, sips tea, writes letters, walks the dogs, reads poetry, makes and takes the love. She throws parties. She leaves love notes. She pushes wheelchairs. She remembers and reminds. She smiles. She's light. She laughs.