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Is it selfish of me
to love
the way I want
to love
and not the way
you want me
to love?
I dance
my dance
to the music
I hear in my head.
You dance
your dance
to the music
you hear in your head.
I watch
the way you move
your body
in your way
the only way
you know how
and feel desire
so I try
to dance along
looking to you
foolish as
a clown
while
in my mind
I am riding
the waves
of your wake
up and down
smiling
and beautiful
my dolphin dance
for you.
Yes, I can see the dolphins riding on the waves ... a beautiful and graceful dancing motion, riding the crests of the waves!
ReplyDeleteI love your opening question ...
Is it selfish of me/to love/the way I want/to love/and not the way/you want me/to love?
The stylistic repetition of "to love" ... very nice!
It's a profound question that requires hours of serious meditation -- or years of psycho-analysis -- or both! I guess in the end the true measure of love is finding the way to express it that is most meaningful to your lover. The lover's purpose, after all, is to please his/her lover, no? On the other hand, maybe the true measure of love has to do with acceptance of your lover's quirks and picadilloes. Maybe true love occurs when the uniqueness of your lover is exactly what you love. That's what I get from the poem.
Dancing is such a pure and basic form of expression. Moving your body, it's so easy and yet so difficult. I often think if I was given a chance for a second time around I would definitely learn how to dance at a young age. If only I had grown up in an era of ballroom dancing instead of disco, it might have been more appealing. We recently saw the film "Black Orpheus" which is set in Rio during Carnival, and everyone is dancing all the time! There's a pure joy that emanates from the people that you don't see in our more "sophisticated" society. I recommend the movie if you've never seen it.
Since I am such a klutz at dancing, I've never written a poem about it, so I don't have a companion poem for you. At least not yet. There are several songs that come to mind (Neil Young's "When You Dance I Can Really love" for example, and of course one of my favorite Dylan lines from "Mr. Tambourine Man" ... "yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free ...") ... but I got nothing for you in terms of original Kelp poetry this week. Not on the topic of dancing, but I have written some interesting poems on other topics recently ... interested?
I’m not much of a dancer myself. But my wife is a big fan of dance. Even dragged me to a few shows over the years of the modern dance series she subscribes to. As for my favourite dance lines of pop music, I’ve got to go with “shake, shake, shake (2), shake your booty.” I guess a close second would be “do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight.” Yes, of course I’m interested in any recent verse you wish to share.
DeleteTake a look at my site. I've posted a few of my newer (a couple of my older) poems. The one I am currently excited about, which has gotten rave reviews from my small fan club, is called "Martin Luther's Plea to the Devil, or The Evil of Anality". Spoiler alert ... if you're offended by scatological references and language, stop now and go no further. Have ever read "Young Man Luther" by Erik Erikson? If you have, the poem will make a lot of sense.
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I really enjoyed your recent poems. You are a master rhymer and if not concise as demonstrated in the 15-line sonnet, very clever. And I was going to say that the Martin Luther poem was shitty, meant in the best way possible, and had me laughing out loud, a sort of devilish cackle inspired by toilet humour. But O the music of your muse and language.
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