The Dance of Our Lives

Unwitting partners
in our individual choreographies
we are familiar
with the steps of the dance;
we know its cadence
and its rhythms
as well as we know
our own heartbeats:
what is expected,
how to respond,
how to feel;
we succumb to familiarity -
contemptuous though it is -
to ensure our survival.

We were led to believe
this would be
the dance of our lives,
that our hearts would remain
full of youth and passion
if only we followed the steps
carved before us in concrete
by a society
demanding conformity.

As those misleading steps
guided us
away from our true selves,
away from our own fulfillment,
denied us the chance for happiness,
sacrificed our heart's desires;

No one told us:
We can change the dance.
One step at a time.