A Lifetime of Dances

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There have been


A lifetime of dances.


The belly dance delivery 


The late-night sway


The pram-driven air kick


The baby pub crawl


The first step wobble


The handheld promenades


The flirtation with waves 


The first snow prance


The Green-Mile stroll 


on the first day of school


The years later, Spring Festivals


Where it felt thrilling to 


Move with girls


Whose dresses rustled 


like the tissue paper


And ponytails galloped in the wind.


The Junior High Friday night-grinding


The High School backseat tango 


The college dorm seductions


The one-knee proposal


The very first gambol as Mr. And Mrs. 


Which led to 


The samba of fights


The tango of concessions


The waltz of apologies


The turning away 


When you knew it was over


And now all that is left. 


Is the choreography of remorse


and a dance card filled with second thoughts


Until one day


In the first-born hours of the afternoon 


The ghost


Of someone you lost


will rise like a mystery


to Debussy’s 


Prelude à l’après-midi d’un faun


And offer you a hand.


For one last spin.

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