Friday, September 9, 2016

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.

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