I wrote this poem in 1983 for Al Gilbert, who was an absolute angel in my life. From my early childhood (age three), he taught me, he cared for me, and he loved me—teaching me to dance and healing my spirit and life in the process.

Keep in mind that the doctors had told my parents that I would never walk. But Al not only taught me to walk, he taught me to dance. And this led into my own career as a dance and fitness instructor. So Al made the difference in my life. Without him, I might have ended up in an institution, broken and dependent. With him, I soared, unbroken and victoriously interdependent, professionally successful, and happily married.

Al taught dance to Annette Funicello and many other stars. In my memoir/novel, I wrote about how he blessed my life. I have also written about him in earlier poems and posts in Reflections of My Heart.

To save you some time, I created this hot link so you can find the relevant Al Gilbert passages through my website:

https://whispersofhope.org/?s=gilbert

I have not yet published the memoir because it needs more editing, but you can read the most current version on my blog, though it is broken up into scenes. If you are desperate to read it, just let me know.

Thank you, again for reading my words. What you give me by reading them equals what I give you by writing them.

Stay strong!

Why

I dance because

Dance healed

My broken

Wing and my life.

You can order my poetry collection, including this poem, here: Reflections of My Heart.

Original text ©2025 by Karen Lynn-Chlup. All rights reserved. Image from Karen Lynn’s personal collection.