This is a night to slip on dancing shoes
and tap tap tap your way to the middle
sidle, sidle back

Slip on dancing shoes, this is the night
to slip, to slide
in dancing shoes, prancing
shoes, to slip, to slither, to glide

This is the night to tap tap tap
on the glittering lake
out to the middle and
up the dark wall of
night

Now is the time to kick off your shoes
wiggle your toes
slap bare feet on cool moonglow
on brassy notes
on tin pan notes, on jazzy razzmatazzy
notes

Slither into a cool white nightie
and sidle, sidle back
Take a running glide, then one slick stride
to the tip top
of the night

Aphrodite in a nightie
swoop and glide
act slightly flighty
slip and slide
take the ultimate leap
wrap your arms round the neck of the moon
swing over her shoulder and
down

This is a night to tip
toe up the path, hip
hop up the path
tip toe up the bright-lit
path, up the spotlit path
up the hot-lipped path

to her beaming face
to swing swing swing
from her porcelain neck
glide down her silvery slide
slide down her glittery glide

to cool lake water
lit up by her one-eyed stare

This poem first appeared in Free Verse (November/December 2003).
Used here with the author’s permission.