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At 13, I danced.
Not in ballet or at parties.
But in the basement,
swirling in circles
on checkered tiles,
my arms waving
this way and that.
At 13, I could swing
my hips, hop about
as if the space
surrounding my body
begged to be filled
with whirling limbs
and wild leaps.
At 13, I never dreamed
I would need, at 65,
a conscious plan
to pick a station and clear
ten minutes each morning,
so I could revive
the buried pleasure
of being alive.
© by Jacqueline Jules.
Used here with the author's permission.
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Jacqueline Jules is a former librarian who found herself intrigued by almost every book she put on the shelf. As a reader and as a writer, she doesn’t restrict herself to one genre. She is the author of 50 books for young readers on a wide variety of topics, including two poetry books for young readers, Tag Your Dreams: Poems of Play and Persistence (Albert Whitman, 2020), and Smoke at the Pentagon: Poems to Remember (Bushel & Peck, 2023). Jacqueline is also the author of four poetry books for adults, including a collection of biblically inspired poems, Manna in the Morning (Kelsay Books, 2021). After 26 years in Virginia, she moved to Long Island to be closer to her grandchildren. Learn more about her at www.jacquelinejules.com.
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Wilda Morris:
Good poem. We are all aging, so it has a kind of universality. I remember as a tween loving to twirl, just for the feel of a twirling skirt.
Posted 04/10/2021 08:50 PM
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Lori Levy:
Like the contrast between dancing in the basement at 13 and dancing at 65.
Posted 04/08/2021 03:20 PM
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Larry Schug:
A nice poetic reminder to keep on rockin', y'all!
Posted 04/08/2021 11:42 AM
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KevinArnold:
Oh fun. Subtlety sexy, tooor is that just me?
Posted 04/08/2021 09:27 AM
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cork:
Is 85 too old to swing and sway to to Sammy Kaye?
Posted 04/08/2021 09:06 AM
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paradea:
Love this!!! I'm inspired to restart this old habit of dancing alone with my 70s bones in my living room to my old 70s tunes. Yay!!!
Posted 04/08/2021 08:53 AM
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