Will You Dance Mama?

To my hero...my mother

Mama I watched you dance.

I seen the smile on your face and the joy in your eyes as the music lifted you above the reality that has become your life.

I saw you take just a moment, a piece of yourself and give in to the floor’s weight and I watched you dance.

I saw you place your hopes and dreams on the shelf to collect dust and I heard the tears through the wall as another unpaid bill falls to the floor.

I heard the knock of depression creep in and drugs used behind bathroom shudders.

But mama I also heard the sound of your feet hitting the floor making your way through the door of today into tomorrow.

And mama I heard you dance.

I heard the sweet whispers of determination and persistence just before the resistance of another emotion took its place.

I saw you make a house into a home and working long days, weary from well doing and broken promises washed away down life’s stream.

I thought it was a dream but mama I saw you dance.

Through the holidays of lesser gifts and taking charity from the white man, sleeping with that man just to pay for food.

I watched as life placed on you hardships of single motherhood and minimum wage being the good in yesterday.

But mama I also watched you dance

To soft sounds of rain with laughter on the horizon.

So dance mama...dance.

With no one there to hold you and no one around to kiss your tears away just before the fears of yesterday come in.

Dance...mama...dance.

With the bitterness bottled up and the uncertainty taking form.

With wasted paper of crunched numbers attempting to budget in a field trip so your kids don’t feel left out….

Take your place on the throne and turn about the songs of love…

And dance mama...dance.

I saw the silent sacrifices and I heard the flapping of loose lips.

I also saw the fire in your heart and the sway in your hips as you glided through the years just to witness your kids grow up.

I watched as people abused, used, and mistreated your kindness. I watched as others trampled over the little you had and the sadness in your walk.

But I also watched you dance…

So once more as your hair turns grey and your pain fades away...do me the honor of letting me see you dance.