I used to see her on the walk<\/p>\n
shaking her red looped dress.<\/p>\n
She was a dancer.<\/p>\n
We called her \u201cBetty the Dancer.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the day they paid big bucks for a glimpse of her;<\/p>\n
fine costumes with sequins and pearls,<\/p>\n
she was a looker,<\/p>\n
you could see it under the wrinkles<\/p>\n
and heavy make up.<\/p>\n
No one knew this<\/p>\n
strange old woman.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Most thought she was crazy,<\/p>\n
just another loonie walking the streets.<\/p>\n
She used to tell me how she dined<\/p>\n
in all the chic places in the twenties and thirties,<\/p>\n
when most of these fool\u2019s father\u2019s stood in line at the soup kitchen<\/p>\n
and begged for jobs.<\/p>\n
She says she \u201cstill can\u201d<\/p>\n
dine there \u201cafter hours,\u201d<\/p>\n
no chandeliers and wine,<\/p>\n
but she can still \u201chave filet anytime\u201d<\/p>\n
with her back-stage passes.<\/p>\n
She keeps herself slim<\/p>\n
because \u201ca dancer must be fit!\u201d<\/p>\n
Leaping out of dumpsters is hard work for a sixty year old.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve closed down all but one of the dance companies in Canada now.<\/p>\n
Betty told me, I wasn\u2019t up on that too much.<\/p>\n
Claimed it was a lack of support for artists<\/p>\n
of her caliber.<\/p>\n
They said she was too old,<\/p>\n
Needed younger girls to attract sponsors.<\/p>\n
No one wants to see a big production anymore.<\/p>\n
Corporations don\u2019t want to spend the dough.<\/p>\n
When they look at her and laugh,<\/p>\n
Betty doesn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s still dancing.<\/p>\n
![\"Gum](\"http:\/\/www.sylviaarthur.com\/poemswithpictures.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Betty.jpg\")
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