Dancing Through Life Poem by Stephanie Starr

Life is not a fairytale, that much is explained to us when we rise from the dust
And yet we cannot help but hope there is more, so much more to the story
We want the happiness of the world to surround us, to cover us in snow
But others want pain, want sorrow, are sick of tomorrow
Because what that brings for them is just another day, another day the same as always
So beat back the clock, since the world won’t show its claws
Give us away so that the demons may have some excitement after all
And when it is time to see who is to blame, who is to suffer, they get caught, oh yes they do
But the real culprits lay hidden, untouched, ready to give another one out
To those who can’t see the truth, that they are just being used
That they will pay when they are locked away….
Even so, she paints colors over the plastic, making it a colorful wreck
It won’t fix it, but she says it will help, it will help, but who I ask
That one. Any one. They just want a rainbow, she says, and paints over my wrist.
My scars….I still know they are there and yet I cannot see them
Does that help?
If not, what will?

She dances through life, as if stepping lightly won’t catch up with her
Her words are as soft as clouds, wisp after wisp comforting my ear
But she doesn’t see what life is, since she dances through it
She keeps it light and everything falls light on her
It will all catch up with her soon, I think, as she waltzes through an exam
Something will get her, and make her fall so that dancing is impossible
Weather this brings joy or sorrow to me I do not know, but I love her complexity
The vines of health flow through her and they tangle up in me
As I cut through them I console myself with the thought that she won’t last forever
And yet she tap dances through injuries and heart breakers,
Sashays through jealousy and greed,
Jitter-bugs through unfriendliness and hatred
And leaps through adultery and rape.
How much can she take?
When will she break?
Sometimes she sings, her voice sweet and savory, a tune of bravery

Let us dance, let us scrape
But let us not escape
The chains put upon us through our own doing
So here I am, I must keep pursuing
The cure to it all, the reason for my falls
And if the only way
Is to pretend it is okay,
Then let it be.
I will dance,
To forget my own stance.
It gets her through times that have broken my back
I should take her advice, follow her lead
But I hold back, knowing she is missing a piece of the puzzle
I get stronger through every cut and bruise
But her glowing body is limber…and yet weak
How can she learn if she pushes away the truth?
And then, it falls on her.
Oh, it falls on her.
Let it fall.

Crash. Boom. Screech.
The tires swerve, and cut off the thread
Of a life, a brothers life, in one mistake
The demons got to the driver, got in the way
It was not his fault, and yet he is to blame
For such a wonderful shame.

Her dancing stops. Faulters. Halts at the sight of a broken body, a lost soul.
How can she dance when reality struck her so hard?
The truth makes her dizzy, but all is certain
That is her brother, on the pavement, and that blood is his,
No paint can color this yellow, no dance can take the hurt away
The beat is gone, and now all that remains
Is her sobs echoing off me, pain after pain
I knew it would happen, I knew they would catch her
But it brings me no joy, only consumes me with the horror
That no life can survive, no matter how beautiful it is
Their blows they pound upon us….
Is it too late to forgive?

She will stand again, she will try to remember the steps
She may in time, remember whatever is left
But her moves will be shaky, not flowing like they were
And life will become one endless, long blur.