SLOW DANCE
By David L. Weatherford

Have you ever watched kids 
On a merry-go-round? 
Or listened to the rain 
Slapping on the ground? 
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight? 
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night? 
You'd better slow down. 
Don't dance so fast. 
Time is short. 
The music won't last.

Do you run through each day 
On the fly? 
When you ask "How are you?" 
Do you hear the reply? 
When the day is done 
Do you lie in your bed 
With the next hundred chores 
Running through your head? 
You'd better slow down 
Don't dance so fast. 
Time is short. 
The music won't last.

Ever told your child, 
We'll do it tomorrow? 
And in your haste, 
Not see his sorrow? 
Ever lost touch, 
Let a good friendship die 
Cause you never had time 
To call and say "Hi"? 
You'd better slow down. 
Don't dance so fast. 
Time is short. 
The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere 
You miss half the fun of getting there. 
When you worry and hurry through your day, 
It is like an unopened gift.... 
Thrown away. 
Life is not a race. 
Do take it slower 
Hear the music 
Before the song is over.

I truly enjoyed this poem. It talks about little thing that you should learn to appreciate in life. The author wants the reader to notice the beauty in the world around us and hopes that from reading this poem we can learn to set a similar example for others.

         “You’d better slow down. Don’t dance to fast,” this line was often repeated throughout the poem and I feel that the whole meaning of this poem fits into this one line. You’d better slow down is the way of the author saying look around you and try to begin to notice the beauty the world gave us and that people appreciated from the beginning. He doesn’t want us to go through our life and then realize that we didn’t appreciate the things that simply being alive gave us.

“Don’t dance to fast,” this line was also a key line of the poem and was often repeated. This line means don’t get caught up in manmade things that just bring stress to your life. Don’t forget to look at the beauty that help developed your youth. Stop getting caught up in unnecessary things and learn to appreciate the beauty that simply comes from being alive.

         I loved this poem and it represents a lot. I often find my self-caught up in things that are avoidable and that I wrapped my self up into. I am given a lot of opportunities to notice the beauty in our world but often look over it to other less important things. This article has truly taught me not to over look what the world has given to us.