She stands in the wings, her heart pounding fast
Her first dance on stage to begin, at last
Mom and Dad cannot help her, she stands proud and bold
Six million hours of rehearsal, she knows this dance cold
She strides to center stage into bright shining lights
Choking down nervousness and ignoring stage fright
Starting pose is assumed, she anxiously waits
Straining her ears for that first count of eight
“Excuse me! Pardon me!” a thoughtless parent cries
Making other patrons stand up in front of Mom and Dad’s eyes
Oh no! Sit down! We can’t see our princess!
We’ve waited eight years, can’t you wait two more minutes?
So the next time you stand in the midst of a routine
Know you’ve blocked us from seeing our young dancing queen.
—Morriss M. Partee, June 21, 2012
(On the DanceMom.com site, a parent wished for a dance version of the poem titled “He’s Just A Little Boy.” I felt I could deliver just the thing, and the result is above.)
Dead on! Drives me nuts when people do this !