A Story as Old as Time

Chancing, prancing, and romancing,

All the while the devil’s laughing.

Keep me close while we’re dancing,

And give me more, so entrancing.

Here we stand, once again,

Martyrs of a hopeless war.

Will we mend, can it end?

I don’t know anymore.

Stand very still, have no will,

Await the next incursion.

Swallow the pill, get another kill,

And accept only my version.

Do you know, we can go,

Run away from here?

Walking slow, friends in tow,

Off the cliff of our fear?

Chancing, prancing, and romancing,

All the while the devil’s laughing.

Keep me close while we’re dancing,

And give me more, so entrancing.

Does it matter, could be sadder?

Stare futility in the face.

Continue to flatter, ignore the chatter

Always stumble with grace.

When to be, what to see?

Does any of it make sense?

Fill with glee, just for me,

And give up your pretense.

All the world, for a girl,

Bow to her like a fool.

I’m a churl, makes me whirl,

That I could be just a tool.

Chancing, prancing, and romancing,

All the while the devil’s laughing.

Keep me close while we’re dancing,

And give me more, so entrancing.

I finally figured out what this poem means to me, and it meant a turning point in my psyche. The brokenness that produced this poem turned around into healing. There will be points of breakdown in the future, but rather than being inevitable it is avoidable and even when it is not it is a sign that growth is occurring. We are all growing, progressing, and getting better even in those rough times.