we dance like there is
poetry floating above us, like
frail glass spun shattering figures
rough and chipped and so,
so beautiful, like
we were pulled apart and
put ourselves back together, like
we are 21 and young and
in love;

we dance like the whole world stands
beyond the glass doors, like
we are safe from all the
sad, lonely, hungry desperate
anger, like
we are small enough to
keep our noses to the sky
tiptoe and almost,
almost reach it, like
we have all our innocence still
stored away in little plastic banks
in the toy aisle, like
the one-way ticket to
sorrow and beer, death and cigarette smoke
nicotine-stained hands and black stained heart
has not yet been handed
to every child grown too fast;

we dance like
we are young enough to have
pretend weddings and storybooks,
pretty plastic rhinestone crowns, like
we are young enough to
fall asleep next to a sunset in the family ford
and wake up after the sun has risen
in our beds, like
we are young enough to
never have to beg
dad to let us back in the house and
sister to
please, don't tell- like
we are young enough to
forget
that the crown means
king not queen, like
we are young enough to
think that the world is not yet
broken it is
so, so green-
like we have never seen flowers so
******* beautiful, like
we are young enough to dance when
everyone
is
watching