Dancer

Dancer




Tammy visits Martha at the nursery home
for the stories Martha likes to share
of times when she was a dancer
and not confined to her wheelchair.

Tammy listens intently as Martha
tells of times when she were free,
when her spirit would soar above the clouds
embraced in melody.

She tells Tammy of how her heart would swell
when at last she would touch ground,
how her spirit would feel revitalized,
the applause a thunderous sound.

“Oh! Those were the days!” Martha tells Tammy,
“when I was a young girl like you.”
Martha looks at the girl with a cloudy-eyed smile.
“When I would captivate all who came to view.

Those days are now long ago,” Martha says,
“but thinking of them still makes me smile.”
Tammy hugs the old woman and kisses her cheek.
The two play checkers together a while.

When Tammy must leave
she tells Martha that she will be back tomorrow.
Martha smiles at Tammy,
drifting into dreams,
dancing away her sorrow.


--msl2023