The ol' soft shoe

The ol’ soft shoe
 
I was a child, younger than most,
when I first took up dancing –
 
tap, the shuffle, the ol’ soft shoe.
A routine for every occasion.
 
Always on notice, on alert,
to dance apropos to the tune
 
of my elders, my betters, my cohorts,
my inner promptings, dance, dance, dance
 
until I lay exhausted in my bed each night.
All my former partners have left me now,
 
or I them, for different partners and the latest tunes
except for the One who has always stuck by me,
 
silently pressing me now, as the music drifts and fades,
to come to a halt.  To sit this one out, to leave off
 
every surefire flourish of my old routine
and just listen, observe and come to a rest.
 
O child of God, you’ve gone through the moves
your whole life long, yet rarely have you ever danced for joy.