Life stands still

And the music starts

I start dancing

To the beat of my heart.

My mind starts racing

It’s easy to see

This is my senior year

It all comes down to me.

Life crashes upon my body

As I twirl across the stage

My soul feels the music

But my mind is on a different page.

I don’t know where life will lead me

I don’t know what I want to be

But for this moment in time

I just want to be me.

My arms flow like the breeze in the air

As I turn like the Earth revolving around the sun

I try to soak in every moment

But that’s easier said than done.

So now it’s time;

Time to go see my parents in the crowd

My mom is sobbing

My dad is so proud.

Butterfly kisses fall down upon him

As I spin gracefully through the aisles back to the stage

This can’t be happening, it’s all to sudden

But maybe in this moment I am on the right page.

Right here performing in front of an audience

Is exactly where I’m supposed to be

Where I don’t have to pretend to be somebody else

A place where I can just be me.

I wipe my eyes

Before my tears fall down

The music ends

And I’m on the ground.

My final pose

My final step

My final dance

What could this world bring me next?

The crowd stands up

And starts cheering my name

While I sit on the stage

In heartache and pain.

I turn and look

And my dance instructor is right there

Calling my name

Telling me to, “Come over here.”

She embraces me with a hug

Trying to calm my soul

She realizes that this is my final dance, my final step,

And now it’s my time to go.

I’ve had my opportunity

Now it’s someone else’s turn

To sit on the stage

To watch, to learn.

So here I go

Gathering the pieces to my heart

As I walk off the stage

I fall apart.

I sob into my hands

My body just shakes

My family and friends attempt to console me

But my heart aches.

It’s my time;

My time to go

To find my place in this world

And leave the dance studio.

Even though I’m done

I will always remember

The times, memories, and moments

That we have spent together.

From classes, to recitals, to decorating the stage

I will never forget;

And as I leave

I don’t look back

Because the dancing chapters in my life

Are something that I will never forget.