Dancing

up, down, left, left, turn,
“just keep at it, your feet will learn,”
eleven years back he’d heard those words,
and he’d repeated them so much to him it was a proverb
a mantra
a way of life
the only way he knew to survive

like the songs that he danced to, his heart kept a beat
erratic in pace, yet steady all the same
turn, turn, turn, feel the vibrations through the floor
so much had changed yet he’d never been more sure
it was this that his heart beat for
not the applause, or the lights,
but the times when he stayed up all night
just dancing
just dancing
like he was meant for

the vibrations that ran through his body replaced the melodies he’d heard long ago
he made his own music now
just dancing
up, down, left, left, turn,
he hummed along
turn, turn, turn, back, right,
head up, heart out,
they’d hear his song tonight.