People-spotting

Men walk down the street,
clad in baseball caps and running shoes,
strutting like greater sage-grouses.

Women walk by in short dresses,
purses hanging lazily off their shoulders,
swaying with the breeze.

It’s quiet with the drawn out, calculated
steps of each passerby.

I sit and think about their movements —
the degree of the arm swing,
the angle of the smile,
the cadence of left to right.

I know someone who walks as if dancing,
an internal metronome pounding
out a beat to which they move.

Each step so deliberate,
each head tilt as if in prayer.

Others cannot help
but take notice of the rhythm,
side-eyeing and smiling,
aware that they too, enjoy dancing.

The Old Fireplace

It’s cold in this house,
has been for many months.
I keep putting logs on the fire,
watching them slowly
catch,
burn,
and smolder into ash.

The flames dance like lovers,
tangled about each other,
making silhouettes on my wall.

If I had the courage,
I’d join them, dancing along
the kitchen floor in socks and an old t-shirt,
humming the words to a song I no longer remember
but have stuck in my head.

I still hum the words,
even though my feet are stuck to the ground,
goosebumps are trailing up my arms,
and the fire went out hours ago.