The Road Beneath Our Feet

Daisy And Diane, 1977

Diane, now in her twenties,
is teaching Daisy to dance.
Diane’s green dress and red hair
sway as she turns in the teenager’s direction.
Diane pulls the right hand toward her
as she reaches for the left.
Diane’s head is tilted forward
and from under her lavender eyelids,
she watches Daisy’s belt buckle,
the center of her gravity.

Daisy, in her best blue denim shirt
and her shiny, brushed brown hair,
keeps her shoulders back
as if not sure what happens next.
She holds her left palm upward
offering it to be grabbed.
She wants to learn, but she's afraid
she might make a mistake.

Diane knows there are no mistakes
if you let the music move you.
The band plays “Take Me Back to Tulsa,”
and now the horns come in
and now the twin fiddles.
Her breasts swing beneath her buttons;
her hips swing beneath her belt.
Her mouth hangs half open,
as if she's moaning, “Ah.”

Maybe all these moving parts,
maybe even more so that “Ah”
will teach Daisy more about dancing
than any lesson ever could.
Maybe it’s just one dance;
maybe there’ll be more.
But that unsuspecting girl
is about to cross a border
into a land of no return.

— Geoffrey Himes