"Dancing Generations"

Richard Fein
Apt B8, 8802 Ridge Blvd
Brooklyn, NY 11209, USA
bardbyte@chelsea.ios.com

Deep South v.2 n.1 (Autumn, 1996)

Copyright (c) 1996 by Richard Fein, all rights reserved. This text may be used and shared in accordance with the New Zealand Copyright Act 1962. It may be archived and redistributed in electronic form, provided that the journal is notified. This consent does not extend to other kinds of copying, such as copying for general distribution, for advertising or promotional purposes, for creating new collective works, or for resale. For such uses, written permission of the author and the notification of the journal are required. Write to Deep South, Department of English, University of Otago, P. O. Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand.

DANCING GENERATIONS 




By the Golden Greek Palms Senior Citizen's Home,
Zivorah danced--
danced, sung, strummed the mandolin--
Handsome, old, immigrant diva doing a hora of one,
until like a magnet she drew in a world of strangers.  
Everyone held hands. 
And shaky old legs, and strong young legs danced the common steps,
all in a circle.
Even I.
Zivorah made sure I entered the circle
next to the girl I had been eyeing.



Thirty summers more--same place.
Now by what is now called the Russia in Israel Senior Citizen's Home,
Miriam dances--
dances, sings, strums the mandolin,
and beckons the young to keep pace with the old.
Another circle that breaks only to let one more in.
And Zivorah is also there,
still tapping a rhythm in my mind.
The mood is so light they tolerate
an out-of-step, would-be dancer,
who has found himself in the middle
going round and round with a partner they can not see.

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