She Remembers the Dance

Syllabic Poem| The Culminating 30

Her

Wheelchair

Set

In place

Silken hair

Each curl

Turned with care

Falling

In its place

Her eyes adrift

Lost in the sun’s rays

Faint memories

Fade in silent gaze

A precious lifetime spent

Kept close by her side

Quietly tucked away

From the view of passers by

Keepsake treasures held safe

In her purse‘s worn lining

She hears his voice now echoing

Down the stone-walled corridor

A most familiar melody

He had sung so many times before

And the dance lights dim once again

As the gentleman asks for her hand

With the elegant jazz of Count Basie’s band

Not Gene Kelley nor Ginger Rogers

Could now have made this one moment grander

Reliving the day and the place and the hour

As if it would last this time forever.

 — — — — — — — — — — — —

Thank you for reading!

This poem is cast in one of the many nursing homes where John Kaiser, a close friend, would sing karaoke songs of the Crooner period. He was as good a crooner as Bing or Perry, Eddy or Dino, but he never went for the big-time, preferring a quieter life. When he sang, the residents there would seem to awaken as if from a prolonged sleep, and sing and smile with him. In their minds, they were dancing.

He always called this his job; I saw it first-hand, and it was a calling, a personal ministry. When I told him this, he would look at me with disbelief.

I would also like to thank Christina M. Ward for her idea of the purse, which stuck with me as a place where memories live.

This is written also in celebration of my parents’ memories as their 70th Anniversary is celebrated this week. Happy memories of the dances, Mom!

Copyright © 2022, Robert G. Metivier. All Rights Reserved.

Special thanks to Michael Hall for this form: “Syllabic Poetry — the Culminating 30”

Originally published on substack.com on 2/21/22