Stopping the Dance

As quiet blackness deepened
I lay awake my heart in check,
The cool night wind blew
And welcome silence grew…
_______

Unanticipated music exploded
Roused me from bed rest, 
I tiptoed to its source:
Dark sounds from downstairs, 
Nearer, higher, and louder 
Till it reached the hallway.
He grasped my hand, 
Whirled it to turn me twice, 
Held me close, went on trotting steps
Slow, quick, quick; slow, quick, quick;
Slow, slow, quick, quick...
He never gets tired, he liked the dance.
He led; I followed - his greatest joy;
In perfect timing to his bidding, 
I swayed wherever he flung me,
His steps were full of variation – 
He liked it that way;
While I only had one reaction – 
Receive his urgings.
Perfect dance he'd always say because 
It is with such ease when partner is open
That controlled movement is played.
Ungraceful dance I never liked, 
But all this time it kept me alive:
His music and diverse steps I sought
And to it I humbly swayed.
Tonight I let him led again, 
Just like the other days and nights.
The darkness of the night was strained, 
It was only the curtains that were swaying, 
To the night breeze with grace,
Stark of light peeped out from the room,
My hands and feet went frozen like ice,
I heard a different tune within, sad, weary,
But slowly roused with excitement
And anger underneath... Heated me up
Ablaze, my eyes red-stained -
He held me closer to him, and I -
Pulled myself too tight to him
He was pleased I saw it in his sated eyes 
As I meekly submitted… for the last time.

We did slow, quick, quick steps for a two 
Or more and then he let me go; I trotted
Far away from him then back to him
Without his behest, and out of rhythm
His steps were outside our dance floor…
Down the stairs...In open position he lay there, 
In his face I saw his dance - the macabre 
dance - I never liked at all. His eyes dazed –
He had his final dance with me after all. 

_____

The night was cold, yet I felt warm, and the music gone,
The curtains stopped swaying at the night winds’ prodding.

-maria
8/11/14

Copyright © | Year Posted 2014



Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

Date: 12/17/2015 11:04:00 PM
https://usadancedallas.smugmug.com/Betsy-Lee-Ryan-Lewis-2015/n-MLT8NX/i-ZbwgMMr A poem recitation with dance interpretation.
Login to Reply
Date: 7/16/2015 3:17:00 AM
As Dave said, this is riveting. There is a deeper layer here beneath the obvious. As I am not aware of the actual theme, I can only guess from what I read. Obviously it's a dream sequence of a macabre dance, as you mentioned. But the underlying message for me is that there is some kind of oppressive control that has been going on for sometime " Ungraceful dance I never liked, But all this time it kept me alive". Awesome write, my friend. Please come back if only once in a while! hugz
Login to Reply
De La Luna Avatar
Hija De La Luna
Date: 10/22/2015 8:48:00 PM
Ah yea, the theme was about dark poetry ??
De La Luna Avatar
Hija De La Luna
Date: 10/22/2015 8:43:00 PM
My crazy lovely Kim! How could I miss your beautiful words! Thank you so much! I have written a couple of poems on here. I peep from time to time. I will be posting some more soon. ?? I will visit you.
Date: 5/3/2015 10:31:00 PM
Hija, Congratulations on your win. Thanks for the support. SKAT
Login to Reply
Date: 8/17/2014 8:52:00 AM
Oh, this is beautiful, absolutely stunning. I will definitely be back to read more of your work!
Login to Reply
De La Luna Avatar
Hija De La Luna
Date: 8/17/2014 8:57:00 PM
Thanks for stopping by, felicia, and leaving kind words. God bless you!
Date: 8/16/2014 11:21:00 AM
You sure reeled me in with this write of yours, hija-- quite the gripping read for me and I think how you tackled the subject was quite unique. Congrats on your win!
Login to Reply
De La Luna Avatar
Hija De La Luna
Date: 8/16/2014 9:05:00 PM
Thanks for the nice comment, Pink!
Date: 8/16/2014 1:39:00 AM
Congrats on ur winning tremendous write Luna !
Login to Reply
De La Luna Avatar
Hija De La Luna
Date: 8/16/2014 9:06:00 PM
Thank you, Dr. Upma!
Date: 8/15/2014 11:13:00 PM
wow, this is very different and very dark indeed. Very symbolic. A good entry that deserved a win in this contest. congratulations.
Login to Reply
De La Luna Avatar
Hija De La Luna
Date: 8/16/2014 9:06:00 PM
Thanks, Andrea!
Date: 8/15/2014 9:28:00 PM
Hija, glad you find ways to warm your heart... once again thank you for the reply...Linda
Login to Reply
Date: 8/15/2014 8:52:00 PM
Hija, love this..congrats...Linda
Login to Reply
De La Luna Avatar
Hija De La Luna
Date: 8/15/2014 9:18:00 PM
Great you love it, Linda! that warms my heart :)
Date: 8/15/2014 1:53:00 PM
Congratulations on your winning poem, Luna. If you have time, read mine, "Dread;" they both seem to be covering the same theme. Well done; I am glad Charlotte included it in the winners or I might not have seen it.
Login to Reply
De La Luna Avatar
Hija De La Luna
Date: 8/15/2014 9:21:00 PM
I was to tackle bully-victims, but i ended up with this theme as they both have the same dynamics: the macabre dance..
De La Luna Avatar
Hija De La Luna
Date: 8/15/2014 8:40:00 PM
oh wow! that's nice! i will read it, Faye! Thanks!! :) God bless you!
Date: 8/15/2014 7:17:00 AM
this is indeed unsettling, and (as I read it) deals with the subject of abuse in quite a hard hitting way...I was a bit confused with the past and present tenses, but this was worthy of a placement; I liked your choice of subject matter and your approach - congrats on your win in my contest
Login to Reply
De La Luna Avatar
Hija De La Luna
Date: 8/15/2014 11:17:00 AM
Grateful here for your appreciation of my piece, Charlotte! And yea, i have to look at this again for refinement, thanks for the kind and generous words. it means a lot. :)) God bless you!
Date: 8/15/2014 6:07:00 AM
Congrats on the win, Luna
Login to Reply
De La Luna Avatar
Hija De La Luna
Date: 8/15/2014 11:14:00 AM
Thank you, Dr. Ram! :)
Date: 8/11/2014 4:48:00 AM
there is a lot here to consider. makes me think. wonder how much is being said in the spaces. i really like it when i have to keep exploring a piece. make sure to get all the meat and never leave the bone behind. what an enjoyable read.
Login to Reply
De La Luna Avatar
Hija De La Luna
Date: 8/15/2014 11:53:00 AM
Thanks, Maurice, for dropping by and leaving nice words for my piece. God bless you
Get a Premium Membership
Get more exposure for your poetry and more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Radiant Verses: A Journey Through Inspiring Poetry

Member Area

My Admin
Profile and Settings
Edit My Poems
Edit My Quotes
Edit My Short Stories
Edit My Articles
My Comments Inboxes
My Comments Outboxes
Soup Mail
Poetry Contests
Contest Results/Status
Followers
Poems of Poets I Follow
Friend Builder

Soup Social

Poetry Forum
New/Upcoming Features
The Wall
Soup Facebook Page
Who is Online
Link to Us

Member Poems

Poems - Top 100 New
Poems - Top 100 All-Time
Poems - Best
Poems - by Topic
Poems - New (All)
Poems - New (PM)
Poems - New by Poet
Poems - Read
Poems - Unread

Member Poets

Poets - Best New
Poets - New
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems Recent
Poets - Top 100 Community
Poets - Top 100 Contest

Famous Poems

Famous Poems - African American
Famous Poems - Best
Famous Poems - Classical
Famous Poems - English
Famous Poems - Haiku
Famous Poems - Love
Famous Poems - Short
Famous Poems - Top 100

Famous Poets

Famous Poets - Living
Famous Poets - Most Popular
Famous Poets - Top 100
Famous Poets - Best
Famous Poets - Women
Famous Poets - African American
Famous Poets - Beat
Famous Poets - Cinquain
Famous Poets - Classical
Famous Poets - English
Famous Poets - Haiku
Famous Poets - Hindi
Famous Poets - Jewish
Famous Poets - Love
Famous Poets - Metaphysical
Famous Poets - Modern
Famous Poets - Punjabi
Famous Poets - Romantic
Famous Poets - Spanish
Famous Poets - Suicidal
Famous Poets - Urdu
Famous Poets - War

Poetry Resources

Anagrams
Bible
Book Store
Character Counter
Cliché Finder
Poetry Clichés
Common Words
Copyright Information
Grammar
Grammar Checker
Homonym
Homophones
How to Write a Poem
Lyrics
Love Poem Generator
New Poetic Forms
Plagiarism Checker
Poetry Art
Publishing
Random Word Generator
Spell Checker
Store
What is Good Poetry?
Word Counter