A Dance

                En Pointe

"Instinctual, you strike with hate
And never rise above it.
The earth we both observe's the same,
But I for my part love it!

"Embrace the joyful pulse of life
However short or tragic!
If death awaits us—and it does—
Why not believe in magic?

"Believe in love and laughing peace
Although you never see 'em.
Believe they live throughout the world
If just in some museum.

"Despair may try to waste my time,
Its claws so parasitic;
Its mewling cry of 'Give up now!'
May feed my inner critic;

"But I refuse to come undone,
Refuse to drown in sorrow!
So if at dawn I'm doomed to die,
Let's dance until the morrow!"

          En Counterpointe

"So dance and sing to ignorance,
To cheerful, willful blindness,
The sort that lets injustice reign,
Mistaking fear for kindness!

"A shrug, a laugh, an attitude
Of 'Who should care, for I don't!'
In fact, the phrase you ought to say
Is, 'Who will help, for I won't!'

"You boast about belief in love?
Belief is wan and feckless!
It's action that creates results
And makes the thoughtful reckless!

"Without a love that moves beyond
A warm and squishy feeling,
The world will slide to tawdry death,
A prospect unappealing.

"So dance instead to steadfastness,
To grit and resolution!
To love that overthrows the dank
And breeds the revolution!"

               En Corps

The facile and the frantic meet,
Aswirl with rabid shouting.
Immersed in hot suspicion's bath,
They steam, annoyed and doubting.

But when their voices start to blend,
A sort of music rises,
A glimpse of possibilities,
Agreements, and surprises.

With wary steps, they circle slow,
Their gazes sharp and narrow,
Until the rhythm starts to hold
As true as any arrow.

An honest partnership begins:
They complement each other
Like branches from a common root,
A sister and a brother.

Debates undoubtedly will crack
A glare across their faces,
Will ooze a red and venomous
Miasma that disgraces,

But in the end, they'll recognize
Their need to stick together,
Their dancing stronger when they serve
The other as a tether.