Body Issues

[This is really old, actually. I found it in my drafts from last January. I figured I'd throw it on.]

My friend has body issues.
I don't know what to say.
I have ballet's built quadriceps and asthma
and I can't breathe when I try to work my lower abs
so I haven't lately and I can tell.
My joints crack when I stretch out my back.
My hips pop.
My kneecaps try to strain themselves off of my femurs,
and I ignore them.
I feel like an old musician with a beloved instrument--
I know where the notes will split and sometimes
screech off balance, and I feel like a professional
when I warm up. Plies. Tendus. Port de bras, splits,
stretching out my hamstrings against a wall like worn out, stiff elastics.
Isolations. Roll my neck and my shoulders and straighten them out until they crack,
Releves with my ankles popping like old floorboards.
Splits again. Stretch my quads. Abs work. Water. Breathe. More water.