I have so many poems about dancing and with dancing imagery. I truly believe I must have been a dancer in a past life. I love to dance. I love watching people dance. This poem is really a short, sweet simple poem about friendship, which I have many where dancing is something we love to do together.
Bandstand
We have boogied in flavors. Dances
Sometimes sound like gelato flavors
Merengue, Samba, Twist.. We’ve done them all
And the neighbors have been pretty hospitable
To the carnival of dances
That port themselves in our apartment in the afternoon.
They don’t even flinch anymore when they walk by,
The music’s blaring, and rhythm’s a go-gp,
And we’re doing things that look like we’re misbehaving
With the blinds open in mid-daylight. We are real
About the feet. We don’t compromise anything
In our rumbas- scanning and scheming,
Barbie and Ken feeling dirty and greasy,
Speaking easy and sleazy. We love
The feeling of pogo stick jumping, punk skanking,
A cesspool of dreams we’ve come to fit into
Jammin’ together in our get the fuck out of reality jeans.
No more wasting time on our narcissism,
When the music’s loud
Beating the shit out of these alabaster walls,
Our eyes just off some psychological slave ship-
Wild and crazy. We just keep dancing
Just like people who love themselves do.
Stray bullets fly and American flags go half mast.
Women come out of beauty parlors uglier then they went in.
You and I we’re still doing what we do.
Through our deep, dark stories into the deep, dark night
Into our bright glory as the sun goes down
And finds its way back to light. Our thoughts
Don’t move in straight lines, neither do you & I.
Regardless of what language or banter we choose,
Eventually we’ll find a way to make it move. We dance
In our seats. We bebop into bars
And back out into the streets. Our friendship
Is simply an episode of American Bandstand on repeat.
Oak Roads: Poetry and Musings 