I recently attended the Adult Congenital Heart Association's 8th annual conference. It was an incredible experience that I'm still processing. The conference ended with a gala and people getting out on the dance floor... here's a poetic initial reflection about all that:
Dance
“So dance, dance,
Like it’s the last,
Last night of your life, life”
A dance floor where Usher and Pitbull sing
“DJ got us fallin’ in love”
Not my scene, scene
…Like really not my scene, scene
“So dance, dance,
Like it’s the last,
Last night of your life, life”
But it was my
scene
Because it was my people
Adults with Congenital Heart Defects, defects
Dancing all there together on the dance floor, floor
“So dance, dance,
Like it’s the last,
Last night of your life, life”
I didn’t even know I had a people
A night with peers
I felt normal for the first time, time…
… Nah, I felt they knew my
normal, normal
“So dance, dance,
Like it’s the last,
Last night of your life, life”
Dance with your oxygen tube in your nose
And tank in a fashionable bag
Dance up on that doc who sent you home to die, die
Dance because it’s not the last night of your life, life
“So dance, dance,
Like it’s the last,
Last night of your life, life”
Dance for the rolling veins from your Blalock Shunt
Dance for zippers and scars outside and in
Dance for all those whose last night came too soon, soon
Dance because you’ll see the dawn, dawn.
