Dancing in the Dark

By

Syd Lea

Don Byas’s tenor saxophone whispers.
They’re not there but I sense the lyrics:

            Till the tune ends
            We’re dancing in the dark,
            And it soon ends.

Beyond the vibrato I could swear I hear crickets.

Like you, like him perhaps,
I still want a beach, salt air, and waves,
an amorous dance under palms come sunset.

             We’re waltzing in the wonder
             of why we’re here.

Isn’t Fall too far off for crickets today?

I crave a self-portrait I can label lover.
I’m not frightened exactly. It’s something other.