Dancing through 2012

"And everything still moves in slow motion, breathless and blue
Behind your eyes, the sea."

There was a lot dancing this last year.

Salsa was a bit beyond my reach, and

P tried to be gracious and not frustrated with me

We still made each other cry over various things

In three days of opening.

The City Club parking lot in Ixtapaluca is also good for dancing

Even for just a minute

Perhaps its telling that the people I danced with

Were the ones that opened me

I even opened my arms for a couple of hours

And danced at a bus stop in the rain.

The dancing at my brother's wedding was very brief;

Alyssa taught me the washing machine,

And my grandmother took one Glen Miller dance with me;

That was certainly one of the best ones.

I danced with strangers at karaoke,

Some became friends, others were only interested in

A body.  I invited D to dance "Don't worry be happy."

And my mother and I spun swing to Chuck Berry.

A twirl turned into a tumble in the Vilnius snow,

Dova was on her butt laughing.  At Adrian's wedding I danced with

David, who I had to carry because he's two; Carolina, who was mostly interesting in me picking her up and spinning her; and I hit Josías in the face with my knee.

Somewhat amusingly, Carolina was perhaps the dancer the most on the same

wavelength as me, she's six years old.

Did I dance with Krista?  I don't remember, Josías wanted me too.

Did we do a little polka?  I believe we did.  The polka will always

Remind me of Julija and her sister’s wedding, of dancing and singing the

night away with Kate.

All I remember is that Adrian was pumping the club remixes of our

Favorite alabanzas, and there was blacklight and glowsticks and a bunch of

kids jumping around.  Josías was doing the "worm" which consisted of

Inching around in a sleeping bag and asking to be pulled around on the floor.

Angie was a clumsy dancer, and her heels stuck in the grass, but

I still felt super lucky to dance with a girl like her.

Of course, Elizabeth, even with her little asides,

Is worth dancing with every time.

Oh, summer!!!   Began with swing and salsa,

Before long I was dancing to folk music over

Cobblestone streets; it was raining, and the cool

water made it just perfect.  Skaiste and Emma, my summer

Sisters, danced with me, and we even got Karolius out on the floor for

One or three.  We danced the cupid shuffle and cotton-eyed joe at SLI,

Among other things.  Lots of other things.  Party-rockin.  We even tried a “Strip the willow.”

Julia made me hold my breath and laugh

Out loud; she made dancing with a vacuum look good. I even danced at a club for a

Whole five minutes, and Lana's smile, her hands pushing against mine— 
It was fire.
When I danced with Tanya, I was playing Jesus.
Trying to be gentle and loving to a stranger,
She didn't follow so well.
 

I wanted to waltz with a stranger in the airport, and I didn’t,

And unfortunately, 2012 passed without a DDR machine

Or any moshing.

Yes, for all this dancing, I could have done a bit more.

The years dance by us, and if we don’t keep moving,

The earth will throw our feet out from under us.

Dancing is touch, held hands, an almost hug.

We need more touch than we admit to,

Our need is both corrupt and simple, innocent and destructive.

Dancing is movement, spinning, as we always are,

The sun shining in our faces.

Dancing is vulnerability. 

Dancing is taking a partner.

What have I done with my time
And why?

I stumble into a new year without a dance. 

There are scribbles on my paper,

Thoughts and memories in my head.

If I let myself go, if I give it a whirl, will I find a hand in mine?

I remember dancing in the moonlight on the Outer Banks,

Singing into the Atlantic on Brigantine,

The green glow of the algae in Oceanside,

The first stars spinning over the Pacific

As I sang existence. 

Could you be my alibi?

There are dances that have no steps:

Soccer matches, vueltas, spoken word poetry.

Dance with me, be the song in my veins.

Let’s dance our way through to infinity.

Circumstances being circumstantial,

Love and hope being what we are,

Oh stars, set the key, waves, set the beat,
Breeze, carry me.