Zer Netmouse

The other day I caught the second half of this song on the radio and thought, "That would make a great open letter to President Obama." The week after that I read an essay about his presidency (What Went Wrong, Harpers June 2015, by David Bromwich), that described Obama's policies as taking the path of least resistance, which of course resonated with the song. (I disagreed with the article sometimes, especially regarding the most important issues on which Obama got elected, about which he completely omitted the question of Supreme Court nominations, for instance, but it was still an interesting read.)

This past weekend I attended a memorial service for Chloe Duke, someone I knew as a child, though not well, and re-encountered just in the past two years after I ran into her husband, a friend of mine from middle and high school, at the natural foods store, already struggling with their inability to stop her from dying of breast cancer. Chloe was a life organizer, a gardener, an adventurer, an indomitably cheerful spirit, and mother to a gorgeous young girl named Rosemary. Her daughter and mine have different names but the same nickname, "Rosie", and they made good playmates too. During the "Chloe the Mom" section of a video review of pictures from her life, they played this song, and I held my own daughter and let the tears roll down my cheeks ("all the way down to your chest," as my Rosie pointed out). It's a good song. Especially for those of us who love to dance.

After the service Rosie and I went back to mom and dad's and did just that.

"I Hope You Dance"

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,
May you never take one single breath for granted,
GOD forbid love ever leave you empty handed.

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

I hope you dance....I hope you dance.

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,
Never settle for the path of least resistance.
Livin' might mean takin' chances but they're worth takin',
Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth makin'.

Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter,
When you come close to sellin' out reconsider,
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

I hope you dance....I hope you dance.
I hope you dance....I hope you dance.
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along,
Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone.)

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

Dance....I hope you dance.
I hope you dance....I hope you dance.
I hope you dance....I hope you dance..
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along
Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone)


Writer(s): Mark Daniel Sanders, Tia Sillers