First Dance by Larry Smith

First Dance

Yes, the boys sit or stand

along the gymnasium wall,

while the girls flit along the edge.

Unlike their days of holding hands

and marching round the gym,

their eyes glance up and down

while the music plays, and

in skirts or slacks,

their hips begin to sway.


And then the Principal appears

without his suit and tie

to call them out into the middle

and speak the words they long for:

“Now choose a partner…everyone.” 

The eyes go up, the hands go out,

the breath quickens with the heart.

To touch this other, to smell their hair,

to glide together, bodies linked,

is the softness in a dream,

and there they float. 


But then the music stops—

“Okay now,” is called,

“you must choose different partner.”

And so, another rite begins.



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