Practicing the Macarena
By Chelsea Wills

 

to bring the practice alive
turn into a bluebird
smash into the window again and again

 

pull yourself under the wave
become sand
roughed by each undulation

 

dance to the macarena
with precision and dedication that
only a seven year old can bring

 

swivel hips
hop
yell

 

know how to dance
dancing is something
dancing is everything

 

more frenzied than the migrating birds
remembering the sting
of the salt marsh drying up

 

our opening becomes
unified, syncopated, together
unraveling, alright

 

Chelsea Wills from US is an artist and writer based in Northern California. Her debut chapbook the Home of Milk was released in 2024 by Bottlecap Press. Her art has been shown at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Jose Museum of Art, Kala Art Institute, and more. She is currently the Anne Marie Oomen Fellow at Poetry Forge.