Dancing on Boats

You were never the best of dancers,
a little ungainly,
full of rhythm,
lacking in style,
but never quite bad enough to draw attention to yourself,
you danced in anonymity
even in crowds.

More often, you dance in defiance
of the demons who plague you,
each move an “in your face” declaration
that their opinions do matter less than the urging
of your bones, muscles, and soul,
made for joy, even at times, a joy you do not feel,

until you dance,
until your body reminds your spirit
what it was made for,
joy, courage, the foolishness to believe
you can dance on boats
and remain dry.

About this poem

A recent day-long seminar I went to had this memorable phrase in it: “Action trumps Anxiety”. It’ s pretty good advice for us folks fighting depression too.

I have a long history of jumping into things I am notably not qualified for, and somehow managing to do quite well. I call this, in my own mind “dancing on boats”. I find it more exhilarating than frightening, which is probably a character flaw or a lack of good sense. But it works for me.

The picture was taken in Venice.

Tom