Thursday, December 22, 2011

Poem: Dancing on the Edge


Dancing on the Edge

Somehow you never noticed
that the worst never happened,
that you survived, grew strong,
became more than a survivor,

an unlikely inspiration. not
by a storybook perfection,
all tidy and in place,
with flowers on the window sill

and cookies on a china plate
to punctuate the vignette
like a painting, a still life fit only
a museum or glossy magazine. No,

you took a different path to heroism,
your doors open, the curtains drawn back
from the picture windows. every dusty corner
revealed,

the chaotic struggle of love and fear,
courage and retreat, anxiety and passion
played out like a painfully human puppet show,
where all could see you

dancing on the edge of disaster,
afraid of the fall, yet dancing still,
a mad prancing
of imperfect hope.

=========================

The picture was taken years ago, it's of my daughter's cat Cleo, in a birdbath in the garden behind our house in Virginia. You can click on it for a larger version.

Tom

1 comment:

Tess Kincaid said...

Wonderful write, Tom. This one really struck a chord with me. Thank you.