That is a pretty good poem. Best one I've read today after reading a few people's on this site. As others have said, the use of the three verbs every few lines is crucial and fits well. They also give direction to the poem (they are not merely synonyms or unrelated words). I think that perhaps the poem may have benefited with stanzas, and yes, clean up the typos. It is quite sentimental and evokes that complex, subtle emotion well.

Very nice poem, quite rife in nostalgia. The use of those three verbs every few lines is every effective and really gives it a sense or rhythm, and again, your last line is sadly touching. Could I suggest, however, a fullstop after the sixth line? It seems to need one.

Other than that, very lovely piece.

this an amazing poem! I truely love the imagery and flow. awesome job!

Wow. This is lovely. I like the assonance you used in the three-verb lines.. "aging, fraying, graying", "sweating, grinning, pirouetting". The ending is superb, it conveys that subtle sense of loss wonderfully.. I like your comparison of the janitor to her friend, it brings out the hopelessness of her yearning more deeply. I enjoyed this a lot! Keep writing!

I felt the need to point out one typo: "and when -the- her friend the janitor"

Other than that I found every aspect of the grammar and words chosen for this poem to fit perfectly with what is said. The last thirteen lines or so are particularly impressive, sets the piece up for a lovely ending. Very nice, brilliant work.

I like the repetition of the "ings" here. It gives the poem a theme beyond the typical free verse random word-flinging. I usually capitalize the beginning of each line, but here I'm not sure if it would disrupt the flow or not. I suggest you try it, and see if it fits.

I also appriciate the fact that you wrote a poem about a person that describes them entirely without the slightest mention of their physical appearance. You'd be surprised how uncommon that is, espcially for poems about female subjects. After all, women are just slbs of meat in short skirts, aren't they?

So pretty. I like how the continuation of the poem is accented by the almost total lack of grammar rules (the un-capitalised words at the beginning of every line seems more delicate on the eyes, and indeed, I have a habit of using it too), it gives it a smooth, undisturbed feel. The last line is a little incongruent with the rest of the piece perhaps, as this is supposed to be her unfulfilled dream. "She can still hear the applause," seems like she's heard it before but retired, if you see my meaning. Perhaps "She can almost hear the applause" would work better, or something to that effect. I'm really impressed with this overall though, and I'm glad you reviewed me or I wouldn't have found this probably. Great job :)

very haunting...i can almost see the ghosts of dancers who must have left wafts of twirling shoe-ribbons, like smoke tendrils (that lingers long after the stagelights are extinguished) in their wake...i really enjoyed this piece..do keep writing =D