Ladies of the Dance

Ladies of the Dance

The solitary lightning bug ignites
her flame.  She sputters through uneven mist,
then rears, aroused by distant Northern Lights,
but spurned, she flickers as a bride unkissed.

Across the fields, a whippoorwill gives voice
to cuckolds, left to weep.  His wistful cries,
forlorn reminders of their faithless choice,
are heard by willows, stooped by past goodbyes.

A praying mantis preens and genuflects
before the pas de deux of death’s embrace.
His acts of mindless coupling oft' perplex
a spouse whose appetites may life erase.

Within the heartbeat of a soul’s romance
lie lurking all the sorrows of the dance.


* Shakespearean Sonnet - Iambic pentameter abab cdcd efef gg