Dancing on Boats
The diner is empty.
There is no music playing.
Downstairs, the cook is in the prep kitchen.
The waitress has not arrived.
The silence suits you.
You breathe it in like wine,
tired of the constant dancing on boats,
the ground beneath you has turned to water.
You are not the dervish you once were.
There is less of you and your dance is a simple thing.
You no longer believe in fixing souls,
only loving them, offering not solutions
but questions they can take or reject,
and still be loved no less.
There is less of you
and it is an improvement.
Slowly, everyone comes up, comes in.
There is bacon on the grill. Potatoes,
freshly cubed and seasoned, bake.
The waitress refreshes your coffee.
The silence is done. Soon others will come too,
calling out orders, calling out their deepest secrets
in public. Someone will remember to turn on the music.
No matter. You have had just enough time.
Just enough of you has emptied itself in the silence,
and like a young man again, you are ready
to dance on boats, with joy.
About this poem
This started out as an essay, but it sounded whiney. Hopefully, this one doesn’t.
The picture was taken in Venice.
Tom
Quarry House 
Thanks for sharing this, Tom, with its perspective on finding renewal in the smallest moments of quietude.
The imagery of being able to once again “dance on boats with joy “is memorable, along with the insight, “You no longer believe in fixing souls, only loving them, offering not solutions but questions they can take or reject, and still be loved no less.“
Thank you once again, Tom.
Blessings my friend. I love your spirit.
This one spoke to me on many levels, not the least of which was call to keep on loving folks just as they are as best I can.
Almost everyone who has commented on this privately has said the same thing. That was not my main point when I wrote it, it evidently it really WAS my main point.
Poems, like art do seem to take on a life of their own once we put them out there. I do relate to the taking in the silent piece too- hence my frequent camping trips this summer.
WIthout solitude, truely I would go mad.
Nice imagery!