Arms raised
We circle
Back and forth
Weight shifting
Muscles flexing
Hearts pounding
Locked
In a seemingly endless dance

My body tenses
Eyes darting
Back and forth

Too afraid
To rest in one place
Too scared
To relent
Searching
For my opponent’s next move

Sweat drips
Down my back






Back and forth
Moving as one
With my body
In my opponent’s eyes
I see the same fear
And determination
Reflected in my own
As we ready to strike

First is a punch
Quickly parried away
Back and forth
We strike and block
Block and strike
Each of my opponent’s strikes
Is faultless
Full of power
And determination
The same as my own






Must be

We switch between
Attacking and defending
Back and forth
Neither relenting
Because relenting
Means losing
And losing means dying
Both of us struggling
To survive
In the dance of death
The rhythm of the silent music
Dictating our movements

Victory looms in front of me
Then hovers near my opponent
Back and forth
It bounces
Taunting me
Then I see it
An open target
A death wish
In the split-second I have
My arm springs to life
Pummeling towards the target
And as I make contact
I know

The battle is over
The war is done
The music fades
Into oblivion
As the Dance of Death
ends.