Shuffle Ball Change Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

No desires today,
Do I have...
To do a shuffle ball change.
Are you kidding?

I made a mistake in my tap dance class,
To ask the instructor Ms Phyllis Stone...
What purpose did that have in 'my' routine?
That was in 1951 or '2'.

Well...
Ms Stone was determined I would find that purpose.
On Westland Street.
In Hartford, Connecticut.

Every lesson...
She made me do that shuffle ball change to perfection.
And also helped developed my taste,
For respecting those in teaching positions.
I could not 'stand' them!
But I listened with zipped lips.

There was a number assigned to enlisted men,
When connected to the military.
That number is in my head.
And I can recite that just as quickly...
As my feet can deliver that shuffle ball change.
Seriously.

Some impressions are meant to stick and never leave.

'Uh...er..Mister Pertillar?
Feet!
Move them.
You're not finished.
Unless I say you're finished.
Ana 1 ana 2 ana 3...ana 4...
Tata tata...tata tata...'