Poem of the Day: “Dance-Standing” by David Pring-Mill, Frequent Contributor and Poet of the Week

Songs of Eretz Poetry Review is pleased to present “Dance-Standing” by David Pring-Mill, a Songs of Eretz Frequent Contributor and this week’s Poet of the Week.  A biography of the poet may be found in the “About Our Editor & Frequent Contributors” section.

Dance-Standing

David Pring-Mill

I stop now,

stunned by attraction:

Daring eyes, vulnerable eyes,

Blinking, long-lashed brown eyes,

Thin white shirt tied into a knot

above the tanned navel,

A gentle sway of her hips,

Dance-standing in the presence

of her boyfriend,

who wears the tattooed markings

he feels he must.

And the girl's thought, loud in the air:

"I want you because you might hurt me,

But do not hurt me.

Will you?

No?

But will you?"

The tall palm trees

keep trying to be

this city's angels,

but they only have the courage

to wave their fronds slowly.

There is

a little Asian lady

behind the bullet-resistant

transaction window

in this liquor store.

We exchange pleasantries

while sliding IDs and bills and change

back and forth through the slit,

the coins scraping and clinking

against the metallic indent

in the counter.

Poet's Notes:  This is a poem about the complexity of survival in our modern world.