That if no one comes to write,
I’ve opened the dance floor,
and I can dance just fine by myself.

I will sit in the loft, put on
the kettle for tea and see
what shows up, word-wise.

The point is to lace up
the tap shoes (or ballet slippers
or favorite footwear of the moment),

join the words tripping the light
fantastic, and follow their lead
as they pick up their syllabic

feet and start to boogie.
There is no incorrect set of steps,
no funky rhythm that someone

will critique. The tea will steep,
and the clock will tick, and
the words and I shall foxtrot,

twist, watusi and samba
until there is no time,
no one but us floating

through a dreamy ballroom
of imagination, dancing
cheek to cheek

in heaven, we’re in heaven,
phrase after phrase,
sentence after glorious

waltzing sentence.

•••

You can watch Fred Astaire sing to Ginger Rogers as they dance to Irving Berlin’s “Cheek to Cheek” in this clip from the 1935 movie “Top Hat.”