It is both wondrous and surreal
watching Odette and Odile
dancing in the masterpiece Swan Lake.

Delicate grace and great technique
make my eyes tear and my knees weak
as powerful emotions come awake.

I can’t describe with any words
the dancers moving like the birds
each arm aflutter like a feathered wing.

I have no way I can convey
the painfully sad yet beautiful way
the movements make my spirit rise and sing.

Of all the works of earthly beings
it is this ballet’s greatest scenes
that are the best of humankind’s creations.

Of all the efforts in the arts
perhaps none touches peoples’ hearts
like this great mix of artists’ ideations.

I thank God for the great folklore
and both the lovely steps and score
that we now see so intertwined and wed.

When my last breath is very near
I pray I’ll ease my final fear
by watching Swan Lake dancers in my head.