The Dance

You say you don't dance
But I don't believe you.
You sing lyrics to songs I don't know.
Quoting circular snatches
And I try to keep up
but spin out of control
Dizzy, laughing and exhausted.

You say you don't dance
But I watch you jump
from one game to another.
Now the puppet
Now the Master of Strings.
Forward and back.
Turning, twisting and laughing.

You say you don't dance
yet your words pull me in--
What is it, if not a dance?
Spinning, laughing and twirling.
You say you don't dance
But I don't believe you.

Reviews

[h d e rushin]

Dear Teacher: I can't dance anymore. I mean, I use to be able to. But now, just spaces and encounters, arms flailing the air like fallen meteors against the iron gate to my back yard. But because of this disorder, I use the empty spaces as motivation. The love I have left to give will be like shooting stars, like lighting, or the most brilliant of winds ever witnessed. Love to read your words again Ms Emily. i've missed you terribly./ dana

[Emily B]

(I don't dance anymore either. Or poet much) But my smile lights up a room when I let it. Love you, Dana!

[Corset]

we all dance to the tune of our own drum and even the tune of others from time to time. I love how this dances with a tune of its own as well, your thoughts dance at the thought of your muses dance :P

[Emily B]

Oh, so long ago. Thanks for stopping in :)

[Jen]

.

[...]

. oh wow ! ... each stanza is absolutely brilliant ...
. and, this piece is infinitely adorable ... :) ...

[alan peter kelly]

in such a circumstance....everything is a dance....a poem....a song to be sung....the mind creates its own rules...it does not have to justify its perception to outside influence...your words are a dance...and for one who loves words...an enchantment,,,

[Gandré]

Of course this is about seduction by words, this is about a flirt. Women always know, they have the seventh sense. I liked "Now the puppet
Now the Master of Strings. " ---- the seductor, the seduced and the seduction. Yes I really liked this.

[.]

There are lots of movements in this write
Liked it
~Kavish~

[Creepy Swine Guy]

Yes. I once met a person who claimed not to sing or to dance ... yet their words sang and danced like no one was watching. Go figure.

You are meticulous with your words. Not too many ... but not too few ... each word carefully selected to fit perfectly into its jagged cranny. The finished product is almost always perfection.

[Adrian K. Smith]

A certain song by Men Without Hats came to mind as I read this, even though I knew this piece was going somewhere else. We even talked about this at one point, the whole dancing thing - the person you know thinking it is his best quality and myself, thinking it is my worst. Yes, there is so much play - so much dance, in everything that is said and done in life (particularly in my life). This piece touched me, in an uncomfortable manner, because I could see where it would be hard for somebody to trust me - how it is hard for me to trust myself. When almost everything becomes a dance, it becomes difficult to remain in touch with the reality - you can lose your bearing, you can lose your way - you can become a trembling mess of goo... that being said, how about something happier with the lyrics from Safety Dance... (thank you for sharing this by the way, Emily):

S-s-s-s A-a-a-a F-f-f-f E-e-e-e T-t-t-t Y-y-y-y
Safe, dance!

[Spoken]
We can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
'Cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance
Well they're no friends of mine
I say, we can go where we want to
A place where they will never find
And we can act like we come from out of this world
Leave the real one far behind
And we can dance

[Sung]
We can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
'Cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance
Well they're no friends of mine
I say, we can go where we want to
A place where they will never find
And we can act like we come from out of this world
Leave the real one far behind
And we can dance
Danc��e!

We can go when we want to
The night is young and so am I
And we can dress real neat from our hats to our feet
And surprise 'em with the victory cry
Say, we can act if want to
If we don't nobody will
And you can act real rude and totally removed
And I can act like an imbecile

[Refrain]
I say, we can dance, we can dance
Everything out of control
We can dance, we can dance
We're doing it from wall to wall
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody look at your hands
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody takin' the cha-a-a-ance

Safety dance
Is it safe to dance
Is it safe to dance

S-s-s-s A-a-a-a F-f-f-f E-e-e-e T-t-t-t Y-y-y-y
Safe, dance!

We can dance if we want to
We've got all your life and mine
As long as we abuse it, never gonna lose it
Everything'll work out right
I say, we can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
'Cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance
Well they're no friends of mine

[Refrain]

Is it safe to dance, oh is it safe to dance [6x]
Is it safe to dance