You imagine him dancing
the way Duncan did-
ecstatic, the way Graham did-
disjointed,
wrapped in his own soul.
Despite knowing the beat passes
through his head without
reaching his limbs-
despite knowing he's been too feral
too long to be trained
you want to set a work for him,
and his freely awkward
frame because you love
the effortless clumsiness
and the confidence of each
second he performs, and the
yearning shyness on his
face the moment he is finished.
You hope to find a composition
in which each note sounds
only of joy, and you want
to give him your steps and
your style and have him
translate and deconstruct
each idea into his
ecstatic body.
Dorla Moorehouse, Texas, USA
2 comments:
Bio: Dorla Moorehoue is a freelance writer and bookstore employee living in Austin, Texas. In her spare time she performs with an amateur dance company, studies Iyengar yoga, and volunteers for a reproductive right organization that provides financial assitance to low-income women. You can read her poetry and prose at http://dorlamoorehouse.blogspot.com.
"Accidental Dancer" is based on her experiences as a choreographer who works primarily with non-dancers.
That is fantastically wonderful. You always have such great poems here Juliet and this one really struck a chord with me. It's beautifully made and the idea so carefully contained is gorgeous.
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