Safe in your partner’s arms
as you dance the tango tango
projecting perfection and consistency
in an otherwise orderless world
She spins and spins
blurs and flows
until she fails
and slams into the floor
The dancer comes unattached from her feet
Her plinth in tatters
He doesn’t see her on a pedestal
no more
She is coffee grounds strewn on the floor
little bits and pieces
that will crunch and crunch
PHILIPPA MANNION 