I see you sitting there
slumped in your banquet chair,
snap, snapping your fingers
as the wedding lingers,
and the bridesmaids and grooms-
men jive about the room.
Get up and dance!
Get up and dance!
Now, you’re not fooling me.
With my eyes, I can see
that you’re a dancin' fool.
You come here, mind the rule!
Can’t stand no wallflower
whose head bobs for hours.
Get up and dance!
Get up and dance!
What you say? You’re too old
and your knees getting cold,
then your back’s out of whack?
What’s next—a heart attack?
Pretty please. Just one song.
It won’t last very long.
Get up and dance!
Get up and dance!
Now, you got up and danced,
grabbed my hands and romanced
our four feet to the beat
‘til our flesh released heat,
and the crowds gathered ‘round
as we grooved to the sounds.
Got up and danced!
Got up and danced!
Whew! We’ve danced for hours.
Where’d you get the power?
I can’t keep up no more.
My butt will hit the floor!
Got to get off my feet
and please don’t you repeat,
"Get Up and Dance" is also my entry to the 2017 Dancing Poetry Contest in San Francisco. Past contest failures inspired me to craft a fast-paced poem that told a story and moved. The idea of a reluctant dancer at a wedding came from my experience last February when cousin Carolyn witnessed me snapping my fingers and bobbing my head but not dancing. She kept saying, "Get up and dance!" I refused. When I finally danced, I tired her out.
Inspiration also comes from Paul Lawrence Dunbar's "In the Morning," which told a story through the dialogue of one person and James Brown's song "Get Up Offa That Thing" for its funky beat. Given that I will read my poem before hundreds if I win, I practiced reading my poem aloud and listening to recordings to ensure it sounds the way I want it to.
