Dancing On The Beach (Poetry)

from the painting The Beach by Paula Rego

The beach a blue-toned ballroom
where solemn dancers sway
weightless in sleep-rhythms
and waltzing, rocking, smooching
holding close their dreams
slow-stepping through the sand
and keeping time
to the sea’s percussive beat
with the pale bandleader moon
nodding from the clouds
and night’s music spinning
an old enchantment
tunes trickle down the rockface
and wallflower shadows
shuffle their shy feet.

But joyless is the dance
their faces almost grim
like they’re doomed
to spin and prance
in their ordinary clothes
until spell-breaker dawn
cuts in.