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.