Maria

Once upon a Maria (w.t.)
after West Side Story

The streets
    are rubber,
the garages
    soft,
the roofs
    are spongy.
They are three stages
     for dancing. The pit
                     orchestra bellows.

Three sets rumbling with snaps, flourishes,
                twirls––scuff marks
                 show missteps and re-steps
               and collapsing stars. Dissolving
      dance shoes smacking stages dub over mouths

kissing hands
    while the riffraff rage
disturbed rumbas.
    Rehearsal:
the heel scrapings
    on the ground,
circular from revolutions
     revolving around Romeo
                     and Juliet, rebel

against the roar of rude tap shoes lunging across rooftops,
                             revealing male muscle.
                    The maidens manage to mambo
              but aren’t allowed to mangle. All but Maria.

Maria, who takes
    up arms. Maria
with magic in rhyme.
    Maria who keeps
             the mourning star from morning.