Old People Dance in Private
/Natural family growth, even healthy growth bears with it the burden of a former happy time, and the realization that nothing gold can stay.
————
Not just the Rumba, Charleston, Lindy Hop or Trunky Doo
before granddaughter comes to visit--
a slow-motion spin descending into a square-plop-down
to annul the dizziness.
Punctuating happiness with clam-claps
breaching the air
barreling
an invisible ladder.
Watching watches monitor my heart.
Who needs Dancing with the Stars?
I twirl alone for the rare moments yet to be
with the toddler
who once two-stepped my heart.
Inured now
to age, hers and mine,
forgiving sun-ripened silken hair
cherry-blossomed cheeks
adrift with virginal scent—.
Her uneasy foot-tapping
echoes
waiting—for a partner—
heart-crushing
a dance-card
filled only
for him.
By Jill Clark
From: United States
Website: https://www.jillswriterscafe.com
Instagram: LooseBalloons