The Young Dancer

author’s note:

Gravity can be such a pain sometimes.


THE YOUNG DANCER

See that dancer wobbling on her thin stems?
She feels disgraced by her lack of grace.
But each time she falls
she rises again—
driven
by the desire to express
the beauty she feels within.

A desire still strong
after a hundred falls.
A beautiful desire.

I’m afraid she’ll try
to lower that flame
if I tell the young dancer
what I’ve learned:
the frustration never ends—
balance is always a work in progress.
By now, I’ve probably fallen
a hundred thousand times.

Road to Somewhere: poetry book
dream steps blog
myth steps blog
you tube channel
© 2026, Michael R. Patton