Poetry Thursday - Twofer!

Giving

You think I give myself to you?
Not so, my friend, you do not see
My single purpose and intent-
To make you give myself to me.

-Nora B. Cunningham

Make Believe Ballroom Time

Judging from his suit which was excessively
drab but expensive, and his speech which was
uninflected and precise, I guessed he was a
banker, perhaps a lawyer, even a professor in
one of the larger, better universities. It never
occurred to me that he might be something
else until, during a lull in our conversation,
he suddenly got up and began dancing. The
others at the party, plainly disturbed by this,
affected a more intense involvement in their
conversations than was necessary. They spoke
loudly, rapidly. But the man continued danc-
ing. And because I recognized what calling,
what distant music he obeyed, I envied him.

-Mark Strand