Forward, side, together
Back, side, together
Hundreds of feet echo
Through the hall
Of richly dressed dancers.
A plastic quartet
Streams music through
Chrome speakers
Forward, step, step
Back, step, step
A lone man
Marches through
The crowded floor
Searching for
The perfect partner
Where none exist.
There are only couples
Each enchanted
By the other’s skin.
Gliding:
Back and forth,
Tender, sweet, warm.
Alone he stands
Waiting.
Bitter, Broken, brittle.
Shadows dancing across his
Blank face.
A shining light beckons
His savior appears in the center,
Delilah offers a translucent hand.
She’s programed to dance with
Anyone for a fee.
Forward, side, together
Back, side, together
Their bodies touch.
Her “skin” reaches approximately
Ninety-eight point six degrees.
Left two, three
Right, two, three
Rise, and fall
“You dance well
You are good,”
She repeatedly says,
He desperately clings to
Each syllable.
Forward, side, together
Back, side, together
The clock strikes zero,
Delilah vanishes.
He can’t afford her any more.
Forward, side, together
Forward, side, together
He holds her tighter,
Marching her ’round the dance floor,
Showing her the paintings on the wall
She just smiles and nods
While time ticks down.
“Continue being a patron
And I’ll stay all night,”
She whispers.
A timer on her forehead counts down,
Two minutes to midnight.
Under the arch she turns
Swooning at the end
Pink eyes piercing his heart.
“You’ll stay with me right?”
He asks.
Turn, side, together
Synthetic hair changes color,
Turn, side, together
Black to blonde,
Turn, side, together
Blonde to red,
Turn, side, together
Red to black.
He spots a woman on the floor,
By some miracle alone,
Waiting for a dance.
Stringy hair,
A wrinkled nose,
He takes her cold hand
For his next dance.
Forward, side, together
Back, side,
OW!
He smashed her foot.
Forward, march,
“Crap!”
She trips over him.
How could he stoop so low,
Letting her corrupt his dance.
Over her shoulder he sees
Delilah.
Dancing with others,
A tall man,
A short man,
Even a woman,
All three
All at once.
A jealous soul
He pushes the young woman away,
Running for Delilah,
Selling everything he can,
Her warm hands are enough for
The Holographic Waltz.
