When we do a ten-show week (which happens a lot over the holidays) our dance captain swings us out of the show one by one so that our torn-up bodies can have a fighting chance at recovery. I was swung out for our tenth and last show of the week. I sat in the dance warm-up room, listened to the show over the monitors, and wrote a sonnet.

Then come with me to sunsets never seen,
Let us allow a dying day to end,
Let us rest though we can’t comprehend
What brilliant clouds, words, colors, sighs might mean.
I’ve seen a simple day explode with joy
And shatter into stars that hurt the sky;
I’ve seen a festive night burn damp hearts dry;
I’ve seen what men and women can destroy.
Together now we let an hour pass,
Forget that minutes turn a black sky blue,
Forget that magic warmth turns sand to glass,
Forget our lines, forget what is untrue.
Then come with me, enjoy this fragile dawn;
The best things end and yet are never gone.