Klezmer music
fills my car
through Bluetooth.
Raucous dancing rhythms
propel me down Route 1
faster than the speed limit
to avoid red lights.
The clarinet’s whoops and wails
perk up my search
for a place to park.
Then in form-fitting
lycra apparel,
still building muscles
despite my age,
I dash to a class
at the fitness center
and leave behind
the images of an old
Eastern European order,
when the throng
of fur-hatted men
in long black coats
danced with locked arms
in frenzied circles
to the same tunes
and behind a curtain
the women huddled around
a seated shy bride
in white dress and veil
waiting
for her groom.
Elane Gutterman, a health researcher, is a founding board member and current board president of the West Windsor Arts Council. She has been writing poetry for about 10 years. She lives with her husband in West Windsor.
