FOX TROT FRIDAYS
The author illuminates a Friday night with a dance, only here she uses literature. In the poem she chooses words that gives the feel and has a rhythm of the fox trot or a waltz. In line one her word choice and flow gives the sense of smoothness in its tone.
In line two there is a short stumbling sound to the tone of the words and it feel like the fast-steps part of the dance. In line four has a smoother flow āstride brush strideā.
Line five goes fast and stumbled again and in line six the rhythm smoothes out once more. Ā The word order continues to flow to create of the fox trot. The flow of the lines in the poem seems to be imitating the motion of the dance.
The word choiceĀ Ā āNat King Coleās satin smileāĀ ā easy as taking one day at a timeā āone man one womanā reflects a natural freedom that is worth thanking the stars.
āRib to ribā shows the intimacy of the dance āwith no heart break in sightā shows the complete confidence and trust in the author mind that this is paradise.
As suggested by apd123, I also agree with the way the lines in the poem are partnered to create a rhythm that goes from smooth and careful to sort of quick and swift, a rhythm similar to the dance fox trot. The speed of the line is shown through Dove’s use of run on lines and emjambment. For example the poem starts of with a run on line that resembles the continuity and smoothness of the dance and transitions to quicker moves with the use of commas, and pauses. As far as the meaning the poem, the rhythm and word choice suggest more than just a dance. The fox trot seems to be a way of escape from everyday worries or perhaps peacefulness as suggested by line 1 “thank the stars there’s a day each week to tuck in the grief….” In other words that fox trot is like an escape from reality
I agree with the post for this poem Fox Trot Fridays. After realizing that the fox trot is a type of waltz, the poem made a little more sense to me. I did get the feeling that this poem is about hanging out on a Friday night. Most likely after a hard week of work, some people just want to relax and enjoy a Friday night out dancing and drinking. I donāt understand your statement in the fourth paragraph, the word choice The word choice āNat King Coleās satin smileā ā easy as taking one day at a timeā āone man one womanā reflects a natural freedom that is worth thanking the stars. Maybe I just missed the point but I thought it meant that you take one day at a time and enjoy yourself everyday as you do on a Friday night. Please correct me if I am wrong. Other than that I thought your translation of the poem was very good.
K.Ramlogan