The linoleum echoes,
A glitch
In an otherwise perfect matrix.
Lines of code
As streamers and glittery globs of gold
Rewriting the subtext
Of this cavernous complex.
This place fed hungry souls.
Soles encased in patented leather propel
Preteens forward.
Toward awkward
Encounters in pre-pubescent hell.
For feet find an invisible divider
Separating those that can dance.
From those that have no chance.
And both possibility and angst collide here.
I join the have nots.
Tentpoles at ring’s edge.
Repeating to myself a silent pledge.
I’m not giving away my shot.
Just one question.
“Do you want to dance?”
Just one dance.
Make a good impression.
Tongue ties as palms sweat.
I've solved complex differentials
Navigated academic trials
And yet -
No textbook has prepared me
For diving.
Infatuation depriving
My mind of thinking logically.
There is no definitive solve
With the set of variables here.
The one answer I don’t want to hear
Softens my resolve as the night evolves.
Airborne pheromones mix
Playing tricks on my mind.
Did I come tonight to find
Cupid’s kiss?
At the school dance
I stand, eyes averting,
Shirt tucked uncomfortably in,
Pulled between my skin and underpants.
At the school dance
I've not yet found my rhythm
Within this large algorithm
Predicting I will take this chance.
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