A Delicate Dance

My life is a delicate dance on a thin balancing beam.  One foot follows the other as they lead me onto the floor.  The music plays, and the crowd’s cheers fade into the distance.  My breath and my heartbeat count the steps I take, with such beauty and grace, fluidity and perfect balance.  The song rises to a climax; all eyes are waiting for the perfect flip, complete with the flawless landing.  My mind is two steps ahead of my feet, and I know the moment has arrived.  My body and the beam have acted as one, but now as my feet have left it, the beam has become the enemy and the goal—the fear and the trust.  My body moves in the air as it would in water, as if I control time and space.  Gravity takes its toll, and the beam and I are reunited, although we are not as one. I did not trust it, as I should.  The goal has been missed, the fear has been received.   I pick up my broken body, my humbled spirit, and the crowd comes into focus.  The music fades as one foot follows the other and leads me off the floor.  My dance has not been perfect, my balance not quite complete.  However, I will rise again, with such beauty and grace. And my life will continue to be a delicate dance on a thin balancing beam.

* Interpretation to come!

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** My metaphor comes from a secret love for gymnastics, ever since the Olympics with Dominique Dawes, Dominique Moceanu, and Kerri Strug.  Don't judge me. :)