Free-Man Dance
by Ace Boggess
Free-Man Dance
There are no steps to the free-man dance.
You could go right. You could go left.
You could flail, flounder, fumble, fall,
then bound back for a second round.
Why worry anyone notices. No one does.
The dance in the wild goes on for days:
searching for work, lagging behind,
bending your arm toward your lips
with lit cigarette or coffee cup,
painting the town any shade but red.
It’s hard to dance the free-man tango
after the convict funky chicken.
There’s too much frantic movement &
not enough rhythm; too much
leading & not enough knowing
where in the hell to place your hands.



love that ending!