Invitation to the Dance
Quickstep
Outside the Plaza Ballroom
Her face a masque
Under lamplight
She waits.
Tic-tac of stiletto,
Steel tipped counterpoint,
Plays against the strains
Of big-band jazz.
Foxtrot
I’ve seen you before
Padding over this road
A gentleman, of sorts
With your urban nonchalance.
No moon this night,
But a glint of sharp light
Falls on your path.
Your coat the colour of shadow,
Lost in the dusky monochrome
Of a summer evening.
Last Waltz
And I remember;
Your face a fading icon
From black and white years
Of old news. Or a poem
Whose end I cannot change.
Cannot help you now
As the world fades.
and the light goes out,
In the lamp black street
First published in from Glasgow to Saturn: issue 22