This Dance – by Jewel Mathieson

conscious dance vancouver

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 shaking 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 ten 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 kingdoms 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.