How Sweet it Is! I CAN DANCE QUEEN IRIS DARBY A WONDEFUL WOMAN WITH A BEAUTIFUL NAME, BECAUSE OF HER, MY LIFE WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME. AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVING NEXT DOOR TO A WHITE, IN THE 60’S MANY PEOPLE THOUGHT THIS WAS NOT RIGHT. WITH NO CHILDREN OF HER OWN WE WERE LIKE HER FAMILY. SHE EVEN HAD FRAMED PICTURES OF US ON THE TOP OF HER TV. SHE LOVED MY SISTERS AND I, AS SHE WOULD LOVE HER OWN. SOMETIMES WE ATE DINNER AND SPENT THE NIGHT IN HER HOME. QUEENIE WAS A BEAUTICIAN, SHE DID ALL THE HAIR IN OUR NEIGBORHOOD. A STROKE TOOK AWAY THE USE OF AN ARM, SHE COULD NO LONGER DO HAIR AS SHE SHOULD. EVEN TOUGHNOT FULLY FUNCTIONING SHE CONTINUED TO HEKLP OTHERS. WE ALWAYS FELT LIKE WE HAD AN ADDITIONAL MOTHER.AFTER EATING LUNCH, AS A 5TH GRADER, WE WOULD DANCE TO 45’S ON THE RECORD PLAYER. I LOVED THE MUSIC OF THAT ERS, A GOOD DANCER I WAS NOT, I THOUGHT BY DANCING WITH MY FRIENDS I COULD EASILY BE TAUGHT. MAYBE MY CLASSMATES DID NOT REALIZE HOW MUCH DAMAGE THEY DID. WHEN THEY TEASED ME ABOUT MY DANCING BEING LIKE AN IRISH JIG. I QUICKLY RAN HOME AT THE END OF THE DAY, I WAS VERY UPSET BY THE THINGS THEY HAD TO SAY. THAT DAY, WORKING AS A NURSE, MY MOTHER, I WOULD HAVE TO BE HELPED AND CONSOLED BY ANOTHER. QUEENIE, QUEENIE I YELLED WITH TEARS STREAMING DOWN MY FACE, I AM NEVER RETURNING TO THAT AWFUL PLACE. I”NOW CINDY IT’S ALRIGHT” SHE SAID WITH A GRIN. “WE WILL WORK TOGETHER, I’LL HELP” PLEASE LIFT UP YOUR CHIN.” IMMEDIATELY TO THE RECORD PLAYER SHE FLEW. SHE PUT ON HER OWN 45’S, HER MUSIC WAS GREAT TOO. SHE REACHED HER ONE GOOD HAND DOWN TO THE BAD, AND SHOWED ME HOW TO CLAP OUT THE RHYTM WITH BOTH OF MY HANDS. WE DID THIS EVERY DAY IMMEDIATELY AFTER SCHOOL, QUEENIE WOULD HELP ME TO NOT LOOK LIKE A FOOL! EACH DAY BEFORE FINISHING AND BEFORE WE DEPARTED, HER FAVORITE MUSIC ON THE RECORD PLAYER SHE STARTED. OUR ENDING SONG WAS ALWAYS, SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME. QUEENIE TWIRLING ME WITH HER ONE GOOD ARM IS A FAVORITE MEMORY. BECAUSE QUEENIE HELPED ME CLAP OUT THE BEAT AND THE RHYME, WITH THE MUSIC I CAN REALLY KEEP TIME. I WILL ALWAYS LOVE QUEENIE FOR BEING MY FRIEND, AND I WILL FOREVER BE GRATEFUL TO HER TILL THE END.
OH AND BY THE WAY, I CAN DANCE!! — Cindy Devaul‐Tonges
Stark County District Library’s 2012 Poetry Contest • Page 8