The free-form poem was written for and shared with a writer’s club in late January/early February 2025. It could use a revision and is titled, “Dancing Amnesia.”

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A decade of practice, 

Teams and classes.  

Performances for half-time.  

Loved the dance,  

Hated the limelight.  

Let it fade…  

But it stayed. 

A piece of my soul,  

Beyond my control…  

The beat, rhythm, melodies,  

Move and carry–  

So I stopped listening. 

Only sounds of nature,  

Native American flutes,  

Tibetan singing bowls,  

Drums thumping…  

Knocking around  

Thoughts of  

Darkness  

Madness  

Grief  

Empty hope  

And truth 

When… 

Poetry found me,  

Or it found a voice within my head.  

An annoying chitter-chatter in rhyme.  

Pings of notes, hints on a breeze.  

Poems and songs inside…  

Longing to escape,  

But suffocated and ignored… 

Elusively,  

Out of grasp.  

My pen trained to express  

What was restored…  

A faith in myself,  

Movement returned…  

One foot in front of the other,  

Now to the side.  

Joints pop and  

Unlock pain,  

Held deep inside. 

Body and soul in harmony  

Moving with ease.  

The pain and stillness  

A release. 

Freedom that hasn’t been felt,  

Since I was with him,  

Singing at the top of our lungs.  

Celebrating life,  

By experiencing it. 

The same feeling of happiness,  

I had as a carefree kid.  

Running through the wheat fields  

Freshly plowed,  

Racing siblings–  

Who could push  

Past the pain,  

Go the furthest?  

The fence–  

Miles away. 

Now, where can this renewal  

Of spirit and energy  

Carry me?  

Clutching a map and compass,  

To guide my way,  

Ensuring…  

I don’t wander astray.