A Poem Says A Lot
Posted by terrepruitt on August 13, 2009
The moment I read this I wanted to post it on my blog. But then I didn’t want to post someone else’s stuff on my blog. But then I thought if I gave full credit it would be ok and I knew that one of these days (whether it was today or not) I would be compelled to post someone’s something. So all day I have been debating with myself. And after teaching my class today at the Los Gatos Swim and Raquet Club I decided to post it.
To me, it is very “Nia“. We don’t dance for others, we dance for ourselves. And when we dance it is a workout and it is very much exercise, yet healing and spiritual, like Yoga.
The author had other reasons for writing it. I’ve read some of her other poems posted on her blog. She has been through a lot. She expresses it well. I hope you enjoy it:
We Have Come To Be Danced by Jewel Mathieson
We have come to be danced
Not the pretty dance
Not the pretty pretty, pick me, pick me dance
But the claw our way back into the belly
Of the sacred, sensual animal dance
The unhinged, unplugged, cat is out of its box dance
The holding the precious moment in the palms
Of our hands and feet dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the jiffy booby, shake your booty for him dance
But the wring the sadness from our skin dance
The blow the chip off our shoulder dance.
The slap the apology from our posture dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the monkey see, monkey do dance
One two dance like you
One two three, dance like me dance
but the grave robber, tomb stalker
Tearing scabs and scars open dance
The rub the rhythm raw against our soul dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the nice, invisible, self-conscious shuffle
But the matted hair flying, voodoo mama
Shaman shakin’ ancient bones dance
The strip us from our casings, return our wings
Sharpen our claws and tongues dance
The shed dead cells and slip into
The luminous skin of love dance.
We have come to be danced
Not the hold our breath and wallow in the shallow end of the floor dance
But the meeting of the trinity, the body breath and beat dance
The shout hallelujah from the top of our thighs dance
The mother may I?
Yes you may take 10 giant leaps dance
The olly olly oxen free free free dance
The everyone can come to our heaven dance.
We have come to be danced
Where the kingdom’s collide
In the cathedral of flesh
To burn back into the light
To unravel, to play, to fly, to pray
To root in skin sanctuary
We have come to be danced
We have come.
Thank you Jewel Mathieson for this might have been about your anger and your pain and your healing, to me it is also about joy and healing, and being one own’s self and being ok with that. Thank you for sharing, Ms. Mathieson.
I also need to thank Danielle Eastman for posting this on Facebook and bringing it to my attention. Thanks Danielle, I learn so much from you.
Terre Pruitt's Blog 
Jill Campana said
Indeed. I have come to be danced. And I have arrived.
Thanks for posting this…I read it as the ending to my class the other day. One of my students said, “wow, that created some really powerful images.”
Indeed.
Jill
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terrepruitt said
A lot of people have posted it on their blogs. It is not new. I just love it. I am glad it was posted on Facebook.
Thanks for stopping in.
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judy said
I’m so happy you posted it! Now I know I can always find it! I’ve read it half a dozen times since you tweeted it. It reminds me to dance my life – my way.
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terrepruitt said
Funny, that is one reason why I posted it (so I could find it) . I went around in circles (with myself) about posting it or not). Then I just decided its MY blog and I really like that poem. I have received a lot of feedback from people that have liked it. They have all read it multiple times.
Thanks for confirming my decision to post it.
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Becky said
Wow.
That’s powerful.
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terrepruitt said
🙂 Yup.
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Jill Campana said
Thank you Terre. I’ve seen this poem several times (Denise Medved posted it awhile back), but I didn’t pay any attention to it until I saw it on your blog. I printed it and read it last night at the end of class (my focus was the Sanctuary of Dance). Powerful stuff. Everyone wanted a copy. Thank you!
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terrepruitt said
I first saw this poem when Danielle Eastman posted it on Facebook. I was eight months into my Nia journey and I loved the power of it. Shortly after I started following the author on Twitter and I let her know that I posted it on my blog because I wanted to share it. It is a great and powerful poem. I am glad you paid attention to it this time. 🙂
Recently someone gave me a copy of a poem that I read in class and used a portion of it as the focus. The people that were there at the beginning of class (and actually heard the poem) wanted a copy too. I love that we can share art in our classes. Life is Art. 🙂
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