Noble and Sentimental

Eight-thirty.  It’s dark in the room 

at my daughter’s house. Just across 

a blackened lawn the Quaker church 

glows—eight double windows 

blazing bright.  Twelve people pair 

as partners face-to-face, one hand 

on a shoulder, another at a waist, 

two clasped firm, held up high. 

Six couples move, flow over the floor, 

ONE two-three, ONE two-three, 

gliding out of sight, back in view,

out of sight. No music permeates 

the night, silence separates them 

from me. But dresses whirl, couples 

twirl, shoes barely brush the floor.  

I can hear my last waltz so long

ago—Strauss, maybe Ravel.  Lord, 

let me dance this fleeting life.

© Martha E. Snell, 2019

A couple dancing
Photo by Alvin Mahmudov
Originally posted on Unsplash;
from Wikimedia Commons