VALENTINE DANCE 02-22-08

Hello

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I want to send you love and appreciation on this fine day. What follows is a poem that I wrote many years ago for a friend’s wedding. It was great to come across it again and to take a look at my flower images that I have seen so many times that I forget what they mean to me. It’s good to remember what we have and to rediscover the value of seeing it in a new way.

The Dance

In the dance if I lead it is only because you follow.

You are behind me guiding every step of the way

in a dance that holds the future

and lets go of the past.

Once I led you into a dance

of the hours and lost

my sense of time.

I became afraid that the dance

would end and found myself

standing still.

I couldn’t see how it happened.

We were dancing cheek to cheek

and then all of a sudden

we were up against a wall.

I could see nothing but the wall.

Over my shoulder you could

 still see the dance floor.

You whispered in my ear.

You said, “It’s all right.

I’m okay. We can stay here

and be wall flowers for awhile

if you like. And if you like,

I’d love to dance with you.”

You held me and I let go of my fear.

I heard the music behind me

and it became the music in front of me.

I stepped through the wall

and you followed.

Thanks for joining me in the dance of life. These emails help remind me that we don’t dance just to get done dancing. We dance for the joy of the dance. I appreciate your replies and that you send these notes out into the world. It moves me and inspires me to get up and dance some more. I’ll be sending another road trip photo essay soon about a great trip I just took to the Pacific Northwest.  If, for any reason, you would like to be removed from the list just send a reply with “No Thanks” in the subject line. If you received this from a friend and want to be included just send me an email: jd@jerrydownsphoto.com. I’d be happy to include you.

Love,

Jerry

Jerry Downs Photography
P.O. Box 1082
Larkspur, CA 94977
415-686-2369
http://www.jerrydownsphoto.com/

Human things must be know in order to be loved, but divine things must be loved in order to be known.

Blaise Pascal