Dance, Dance, Dance, 'Til You Can Dance No More Poem by Tom J. Mariani

As I drove 'cross town today
To get my Holiday shopping under way
With my car radio tuned in
Classic Rock - - let the dance begin

On comes a Don Henley from 1985
- -'All She Wants to Do Is Dance'- -
Up comes the volume
Down comes all four car windows

Take that you hip-hoppers
Wish I had my old speakers
From my '66 Malibu
Then the lyrics struck me

Maybe I've been watchin'
Too many presidental debates
Maybe just too much CNN
Twenty-four hours a day

I have no idea if this is what
Henley was trying to say
But given the state of America's
Foreign and energy policies

Our refusal to sign
The Kyoto Protocol
Ratified by 170 other countries
To reduce greehouse gases

And our nonplused reaction to that
And the six-year Iraq War

THE IRAQ WAR - -? ? ?
It's our war
Bought and
Paid for

Its cost to date in U.S. dollars
If relevant to you $469,509,480,910
U.S. troups dead
A very relevant 3,865

I said I'm no sure who Henley
Had on his mind
When he wrote and sang
'All she wants to do is dance'

All I could see in my minds eye
As I drove on
Was my Uncle Sam in a dress
Dancing and wantin' to party

Thats' what Don's song was saying to me
War's in a Surge mode
Demos first 100 days
Are long gone

'And all she wants to do is dance
Rebels being rebels
Since I don't know when
And all she wants to do is dance

Molotov cocktails the local drink
They make 'em up right
In the kitchen sink
Carzy people walkin' 'round with blood in their eyes

And all she wants to do
is dance, dance, dance'

We're busy getting ready
To dance through the Holidays
Macy's and Wall Mart
Already playing Siren's song

And all we want to do is dance
'Never mind the heat
Comin' off the street'
All we want to do is dance

And make romance
We want to party
How did Don know
He'd make me pull over

Park my car and listen
To his refrian
And suddenly
Not feel like dancing

**November 17,2007**