Haiku by Martin Cohen

Dance Haiku

Together we danced
Caught up in the pulsing beat
Glad I brought earplugs

I ask you to dance
Notice your hesitation
Been turned down before

I ask you to dance
Notice your hesitation
At last you say yes

I ask you to dance
Immediately, a yes
And away we go

Flowing together
The music and you and I
What could be better

We both like this dance
Our styles are so different
Must adjust to you

Teachers so certain
The way they teach is the best
No "have to" in dance

In line at mixer
We get closer and closer
Darn - missed you by one

A step I try works
It feels so good to tell you
"First time I've tried that"

A step I try fails
I say "Always leader’s fault"
You smile, I relax

"I don't know tango"
"Just try: One, two, tango close"
By song's end, you know

My two rules of dance:
No one gets hurt, all have fun

Need no other rules
 

The floor is crowded
Hard to avoid collisions
Always say "Sorry"

When a step goes wrong
The problem is usually
Ambiguous lead

Class at start of dance
My reaction to step taught:
"I'll never use that"

More than ten dances
Good enough in them to say
"Would you like to dance?"

Always been a nerd
Now a nerd who loves to dance
Glorious difference



Martin Cohen is a retired computer programmer who loves dancing (favorites are West Coast Swing, Watz, Tango, and Foxtrot), writing (but not revising) poems, and solving math problems.