Not Dancing, Not Minding

if in spite of
the bright organ and
impetuous drumming
that fill this room

you somehow find yourself
unable or unwilling
to dance

stick your back in a corner
and squint at the crowd

count the upraised arms
count the faces glimpsed in 
flashes of light from the stage
count how many of them
have their eyes closed
see how in the roar of the band
so many bodies have lost
the inhibition against
the casual touch of strangers

and say out loud the words
reserved for those who find themselves
separate and alone

say
“I did not want this anyway”
or
“they never want me anyway”

you will be correct
no matter your choice
and maybe you can use this 
to fuel a solitude
a run by yourself to a glory
not bounded by the mass love
of each other and the group rate
for the trip into mmmmmmm…
mingled joy

as a famous loner once said
in a movie
as he held his hand famously
in a bright-hot candle flame

of course it hurts
the trick
is in not minding

as long as you can tell yourself
you don’t mind being alone
everything’s
possible