Answer:
In the poem "Dance Mama Dance" the word dance symbolizes happiness.
Explanation:
The poem is related by someone who sees how his mother has tried to give everything to him and his brothers.
Let's look at this analysis with evidence from the poem:
And as these we can find examples throughout the poem.
But something that this person has never seen is his mother being happy. This is expressed by the word "dance".
The tone with which he constantly repeats the word dance makes us feel that he is saying to the mother "Be happy, Mom! Be happy!" .
"And I say Dance Mama Dance
Break the floodgates of countless uncried tears
And Dance Mama Dance
For all the nights you slept alone
with no warm arms to hold you
Dance Mama Dance
For all the dreams that you forgot so we could make it through the day "
In these lines we can see how the mother has suffered and cried and what her children want is to see her smile and be happy.