dad would dance

dad would dance






it
never struck me,
like lightning loves a tree.
and
he was never one
to instruct me,
but
now i see...


on those
starry starry nights
so
many moons ago.
when
he stole mom
excused themselves
for a round
of heel and toe.


us kids thought
it was just too funny.
but he
was out there
a whirling dervish with his honey.
and
as the dance floor cleared,
the awestruck stared,
the crowd would sway and sing.
there
was mom and dad spinning
and wide-mouth grinning
to the bands
open invitation
defying gravity’s inclination
to keep both feet on the ground.


now
my genes move
in
different circles,
a bag of bones on two left feet.
so i
swing and sway in my poets way
to the metered rhythms
of the street.
and
recall the chances;
dad
romancing mom with dances,
no two
ever
moved so sweet.


seems
dad danced his way into paradise
in the arms
of his one true love.
the heavens
opened
right here on earth,
sent them
both sailing above.


i
guess he always knew,
even if
i would ignore,
how much love there is in leading
with
your heart open and freewheeling
out there
on
that ballroom floor.









sjw  5/26/06



from the 'beauty series' of poems