On a makeshift stage wooden
In front of my building, in the narrow space
In a red dress trimmed with false gold lace
She stood quivering and lowered her face

The milling crowd buzzed in impatience
People in clothes drenched in sweat
Let the music begin they cried
The night’s young and the mood is set

As the loud strains of a popular movie song
Hushed the crowd into a tranquil still
She began to dance sinuously to the music
In fluid movements of an effortless skill

The crowd watched hypnotized
The dance of the twelve-year old
Transformed into a beautiful young goddess
A shimmer of red and gold

And silently in the dark
I watched her from my bedroom window
Sitting on the window sill, my legs dangling
Remembering a time a long while ago

When I too had danced to the rhythm of the music
A young girl dressed in blue and green
With the naïve enthusiasm that youth affords
Unaware of the bitter life ahead unseen