Written ‘In Synergy’ with Colin Connor & Micah Bullard
We moved across the gym floor in a phalanx
(This was years before Beyonce’s Formation)
Our dance teacher beat the drum.
“Girls, make your life a dance!” she exhorted.
Each line advanced.
At fifteen we were captains of our here and now.
Navigating friendships, parents’ divorces, drivers’ licenses, bookwork, boys.
Paying little heed to making our lives a dance.
Decades later our teacher’s words filtered through
(So much had I juggled in life)
To shift juggling for a dance
And somehow
Some mystical how
Life’s movements grew less staccato
More interconnected
More manageable
That was all she meant
Jean Hooper was born in New York City. She studied English/Secondary Education at Arizona State University and Cal State Los Angeles. She lives in Altadena.
