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Cat Dance Music
Jim CullenyDance!
Delphiniums winddance
with phlox in Pat’s garden.
They sway in quiet concord,
rooted in motion.Dancing’s a vital sign of endless youth;
even my grandmothers danced:
one danced to accordianed polkas;
corseted cantileverd bosom bouncing.
The other jigged across her chicken yard
with handfuls of eggs –having just left her hens
without yield– acting goofy for a camera.I once danced with abandon
to big-holed 45s
spun by a DJ named Jocko
who sent four-part doowop through my radio:
the Prisonaires, the Cadillacs, the Moonglows…When was the last time I danced with abandon?
How did I do that beautiful thing?It’s best to dance with others, real gurus say.
It’s lonely dancing with a mirror,
leading and following in one motion,
thinking breaking it would be bad luck.Our cats dance to deep cat vibrations always.
Alert as …cats to music far beyond our ears:
cat dance music.Zorba knew. Have you seen
Quinn, the Greek, dance?
Felt life spring in rhythms?
Watched it prance on toes to a bouzouki
even in the embrace of despair?Never. Never forget how to dance.
All innocents dance.
Only the troubled are still.
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