The night I ceased to be Part of that world, I extinguished both the studio lights And the fire my passion had kindled inside. Descended to streets below Glanced up at the ink-black January sky, Blessed the smothered stars As wistful piano faded into late-night traffic hum. I realised, only later, what I had lost. Time soon warped the joie-de-vivre This art form bestowed me with, And wrenched with it too The lives and loves of those I once laughed with. In another life, I stayed. I didn’t cross the street, no - I didn’t elect to soullessly self-destruct. In another life, I lived - I lived… to dance another day.