(IX)

Steffi

Seldom does he, does anyone, have the chance
to move through their closing  days in such lively, bright
company, to dance
in step to music that only a lifetime of dark and light
could compose,
one shorn of lullabies to be sure, no hymns either
to offer thanksgiving or praise
in her early days,
only the daily, tuneless beat of survival
mixed now, in the last decade
with high-stepping, inspiring stuff, a revival
that puts her past on its heels
and lets her toes tap themselves
to a new, love-driven place.
Her life has become an art
a miracle in the making as his dear friend
and teammate,
taking on the old to create the new,
reflects her honors degree in life’s school
of dance,
mastering and teaching those moves
that set us free,
swirling, whirling to be sure,
but in the center’s eye that perfect peace,
her fire and grace lead us to.

 

From Best Poets of 2016

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