Elane Gutterman

Talia, June 2020

When Talia’s hips snake, she leaves behind caution.
When her shoulders shimmy, she celebrates.
When she vines her steps, she turns vibrant.
When her head is flipping, her curls flying,
she overflows.

She is living La Vida Loca with Ricky Martin.
She Breaks Free to Ariana Grande.
She is sailing with the Greek, Kalidis.
She is feeling good to Lizzo

I’m also feeling good to Lizzo,
taking my daughter’s Zumba class,
from the distance of online,
she in our basement, me in the room above.

When Talia’s hips snake, she grinds away resistance.
When her shoulders shimmy, she celebrates.
When she vines her steps, she turns vibrant.
When her head is flipping, her curls flying,
she’s unstoppable.

About the author
Elane Gutterman is Chair of the Literary Arts Committee at the West Windsor Arts Center, where she is also a founding board member. Her poems on family, travel and community have been published in in Kelsey Review, Patterson Literary Review, U.S. 1 Summer Fiction Issue and The New Verse News. She kept her sanity during the pandemic by writing poetry and discovering an abundance of NJ nature that is surprisingly close to home.