lately, I’ve been dancing
on all my tears without slip
or fall —every Plier I’ve bended,
every Entendre I’ve stretched,
every Relever I rose, every
Glisser I would glide, every
Sauter I jumped, every Elancer
I darted, every Tourner I turned.

my dance floor is drenched in tears
and still I dance and still I maintain
my balance. lightning strikes, flash
in my skies while thunder cracks.
I dance with the lightening and I roll
to the drums of the thunder. There are
no raindrops falling from the clouds,
for my grief is my cloud and my teardrops
are my rainstorms.

Suddenly, earth stands still. I do not fall,
I stand still. earth then quakes, I’m still
standing and again I start to dance.
and my grief plays on and the lightning
flashes on and the thunder rolls on and
my teardrops still fall, yet I refuse
to stop —dancing.

Jerry T Johnson is a poet and spoken word artist whose poetry has appeared in a variety of literary publications worldwide. Jerry is author of 2 poetry collections: “A Coldness” published by Finishing Line Press and “Poets Should Not Write About Politics” by Evening Street Press. His poetry collection “Poets Should Not Write About Politics” was selected winner of the Evening Street Press’ 2020 Sinclair Poetry prize and his poem “The Apology” (Evening Street Press) was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2021.