You would hardly know he's a dancer.
He sits in the back and stays motionless for days; his limbs limp and soft.
Many songs play; catchy dance tunes.
He ignores them all until...
He hears the beat. He always hears it before I do.
His little finger hardly lifting to keep time with the distant sound.
So subtle.
The dance begins.
He takes it slow at first; a stroll.
He lets me listen for awhile
He lets me feel the tension in my neck and shoulders
Sense the slight churning in my stomach
Become aware of my mind twirling backwards reviewing foods, beverages, or lack of
Notice the soreness in my eyes
"Feel the rhythm," he says.
"Not today...PLEASE, not today", I beg.
But he grabs my hand
Pulls me closer.
Now we both hear the drum stronger
Start moving with the beat
The tempo quickens
The no longer distant drummer switches to the base.
The nausea increases
Panic sets in
He whirls me around and around; holds me tighter.
My toes and feet start their own quick steps in rhythm with his.
The song is fast and jerky.
The drummer solos for hours and hours and hours.
The rumbling in my stomach requires fast footwork followed by
A lunge. I lead. He follows.
He likes the sequence.
We repeat it over and over and over until...
My head drops back in a dramatic pause.
My limbs limp and soft.
Then we are still.
The dance is over.
My partner bows and backs away as slowly as he started.
I can hardly lift my head to say goodbye.
But the man loves to dance.
He'll be back.


Katherine,
For what its worth...
I dabble at simple, silly poetry for fun with my family. Your poem above was the most beautiful expression of pain through poetry I've seen so far in the contest. I'd vote for this one if the contest were judged today and I had a vote. Well done.
Praeter13th
Wow! Thanks so much for saying that. I was just starting a migraine when I wrote that poem so it kind of just flowed out as I was in the pain. Katherine
As a former dancer, and current migraine sufferer, your piece really hit home. I can also relate that my poems came faster and/or slower, lol, because I had back to back weekends full of migraines, the ol' yo-yo routine. Here's hoping you have pain-free days.
Thanks for reading my poem and for your comment...expecially because you are a dancer and a migraine sufferer. I like your wish of pain free days and I wish it for you as well. Katherine