Slow Dance - A Way of Life

A friend of mine sent me a chain email today presumably written by a terminally ill young girl who was being treated for cancer in a New York Hospital.

I am very moved by the poem, Slow Dance, attributed to the girl, and I wanted to research its origin before I shared it with all of you. So I checked in with BreakTheChain.org. Here’s what I found:

“This one’s been around in one form or another since 1997, creating an interesting snapshot of the life of a hoax. In its original form, it told the story of Jessica Mydeck, who supposedly had a terrible form of brain cancer. Since the letter claimed she only has 6 months to live, her name was probably removed from future texts to keep it from being identified as outdated (or as the hoax it is).

The poem was written by David L. Weatherford and published in 1991 by the Russ Berrie Company. It was added to the chain letter in early 2001. Weatherford is uncertain how the poem came to be associated with the dying child hoax and does not endorse its inclusion.”

That being said, David L. Weatherford’s (a child psychologist and author) poem Slow Dance is a beautiful one containing much hope and inspiration. I’m not going to let the fact that I received it in a chain letter deter me from wallowing in its message. Enjoy:

Slow Dance

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round,
or listened to rain slapping the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight,
or gazed at the sun fading into the night?

You better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
time is short, the music won’t last.

Do you run through each day on the fly,
when you ask “How are you?”, do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed,
with the next hundred chores running through your head?

You better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
time is short, the music won’t last.

Ever told your child, we’ll do it tomorrow,
and in your haste, not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch, let a friendship die,
’cause you never had time to call and say hi?

You better slow down, don’t dance so fast,
time is short, the music won’t last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere,
you miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,
it’s like an unopened gift thrown away.

Life isn’t a race, so take it slower,
hear the music before your song is over.

Thanks to Musings of a Thoughtful Conservative for including this post in A Waukesha Carnival, to Anja Merret for featuring this post in the Blog Carnival of Observations on Life, and to Positive and Successful Lifestyle Tips for inclusion in the Carnival of Inspiration and Motivation.

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