A dance by the fire

She danced by the fire

her arms around life

her arms around the flame

that would become her life

She danced before me

she danced around me

and she danced for me

as the flame climbed high

I did not come to dance

fingernails too begrimed

I did not come to dance

to hold those soft white hands

But she stood before me

Before my sunburned face

she took my coal-stained hands

in hers and we danced

We danced by the fire

embracing the flame

and the dance became the fire

embracing our life

I danced before her

and the fire grew

the fire became the dance

and oh how we danced

and oh how we danced

In late August, the Tweetspeak Poetry staff and some of the T.S. Poetry authors met at West Bend, Indiana. One evening was devoted to reading poetry and an informal concert. We heard Tania Runyan on the fiddle, Laura Lynn Brown on the flute, and Laurie Klein on the guitar. They played Irish and Scot music, and it was difficult to keep from dancing (some of us danced, and some of us watched). The above is the second of the songs (or poems) I wrote as I listened to the music. The first is “A song from the sea.”

Sting Sisters: Shetland Fiddle Diva

Photograph by Axelle B via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.