Under the orange

glow of the back street

light, she wanted to hold

my hand, grip it tight,

and talk of the future,

I wanted

to live in the present,

I gingerly told her I wanted to kiss her

rouged red lips

and tell her I loved her,

we compromised

and that night

as the glow died down

at just before dawn,

we learned to dance.

Ian D. Hall 2018