A Dance Like No Other

What dance is this?
This mindless waltz,
Of stumbling steps,
And missed chances,
Out of tune,
Out of time,
Out of step.

We tread not lightly,
We do not glide,
We are abrupt,
And heavy footed,
And clumsy.

You tread on my toes,
And I cry,
But why don’t you care?

We are twining together,
And then apart,
You send me away,
In a swirling spin,
And I lose my footing,
I fall.

I rise and again we dance,
But this dancing,
It is not right,
This is not what a dance should be,
Not at all.

Once,
I think,
Dancing was different,
A different tune,
Different steps,
A different beat.
The beat of two hearts,
In time,
Perfection.
We flew then,
I think,
We flew graceful as angels,
Gliding,
Floating,
Glowing.
Our music was laughter then.

Now I dance with you,
But the music is harsh,
Bitter,
Confusing,
It is loud and rough,
It is breaking glass and yells.

What is this dance?
This mindless waltz,
Of stumbling steps,
And missed chances,
Out of tune,
Out of time,
Out of step.