Journey to Ixtlan

The poem “Beyond the Dance” is about striving to live beyond the normative.


Beyond the Dance

Seek a life beyond the dance
that span of staid circumstance
those tunes clinging to the past
embracing moves now long lapsed

classics are spun once again
look beyond that tired domain
cantos to tradition’s rut
now a dirge too many trust

ten thousand steps in unison
once thought to be jubilant
now a procession without end
for the march of the condemned

the dance may still exist
harmony instead of the old dread
if vitality seeks its own song
before the sounding of life's gong.

© 2020. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20200225.

The poem “Free to Fly” is about the other-worldly experience of dancing. Physical limitations and tiredness seem to be put aside. The end result is a magic that only dancers experience.


Free to Fly

Free to fly for a short time
beyond the limits that life contrives
when both the body and the mind
elevate into the sky

gravity asked to step aside
no longer master of mortal ones
now the attraction to the ground
has been removed by the chords

to leave the bounds of the earth
even for the briefest jaunt
allows ecstasy in the feet
their journeys measured by the beat

when the dancing is applied
the soaring brings only smiles
with conviction of eternal bliss
at least until the notes relent

the price may come afterward
bring the crowd down to earth
because the gods will demand
nothing less as consequence

but in the now, the air is home
atmosphere to fill the heart
lift all up to prance again
denying gravity for that chance.


© 2019. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20190326.

The poem “Danced with Eyes Fully Shut” was by a dance I had with a friend. We performed a full swing dance with both our eyes closed. It worked 90% of the time. The challenge was when the secondary hands had to connect. We came up with some tricks to keep the primary hands in play, even when we were separated.


Danced with Eyes Fully Shut

I danced with eyes fully shut
on the edge of life’s crevice
in the arms of the one
who risked it all to join the fun

the depths were ten thousand feet
promising doom upon impact
or an inch if I’m honest
still the act was filled with fraught

failure was part of the jaunt
always there as an option
with the promise to instruct
those who knew that life could turn

just like the moves to and fro
not all of them will properly flow
knowing truth should prevail
the breadth evokes consequence

some will falter by disconnect
others by the straying touch
as the partners move about
with shared intent in the dance

fully closed asks so much
perfection in failure’s grasp
crossing bridges that connect
one to another without regret.

© 2019. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20190307.

The poem “In Your Embrace” is based on the remark of a dear dance friend. They had brought an associate to the social dance. My friend said to them, “prepare to fall in love over and over again”. This is the joy and purity of social dance.


In Your Embrace

Dancing only to explore
the joy of motion instead of more
was the goal before we met
instead desires were prominent

to fall in love once again
seems my fate in your embrace
I’ll write to gauge how this was
when the passions gripped my heart

now amour is in the wind
adoration perhaps misplaced
yet the feelings are not vile
there is honesty in their wiles

blowing boundaries meant to guard
delicacies of the world
toppled by the human wants
driven by the social dance

have no fear dear audience
all’s not lost as bodies meld
the madness goes as it comes
temporary in moment’s brush

to fall in love is our fate
this is annulled when music ends
the cycle turns to be renewed
as another meets my arms.

© 2018. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20181028.

I adore humming or singing along with a dance partner. The poem “Hum A Tune” is about this joy.


Hum A Tune

Allow me to hum a tune
while we dance to music’s lead
sent by the muse with no strings
except to join as a chorus
song embarked on our romp
close enough to be heard

while the room is ignorant
of our blessing from our voice
two blessed souls lost to time
floating in our confidence
bubble found where we can soar
transcending sound vocalized

when small talk is not enough
we’ve crossed that bridge long ago
conversation turned to song
elevation of dialogue
synchronized the best we can
without training or practice spent

engaging with a pure intent
inspired by minstrel’s steady beat
accompaniment to joy’s wry glee
jester found inside of each
not a crooner in earnest
instead bliss celebrates

while we the key may be off
or the words be muttered forth
the intent is to embrace
celebration of jubilee.

© 2018. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20180517.

I participated in a dancer organized meet-up that touched on, amongst a range of topics, the lead / follow dynamic in relation to gender identity and gender presentation. It was at this point that I could have some inner pride in my “home” swing dance. In that space, I am glad to say, the dance roles are taught by function (lead / follow) and not by gender. There are still some growing pains. The young leads are wary of male-appearing follows during the lesson. On the fully progressive side, female-appearing leads are encouraged during the lesson and sometimes are needed due to the mismatched ratios of potential leads / follows. The good news is that the mostly young crowd is incredibly accepting of non-traditional pairings on the dance floor. There is something to be said for the young being the future of the world, and that us old(er) participants recognize the wisdom of progress.

Speaking of my home dance, thank you Upstate Swing (https://www.facebook.com/groups/upstateswing/) (Paul Hoke, Ansley Meredith Hoke) for providing this venue for a freeing exploration of swing dance! Other regional dance forms and venues are also progressive. Contradance gets a big shout-out for having a long-time tradition of allowing freedom on the dance floor. I hope this can continue, progressing to even more role flexibility across the gender identity and gender presentation spectrums.

The poem “In That Moment” is about the magic of dance and music.


In That Moment

In that moment I had no form
though I touched another one
two combined to exist
within the hold of melodies

by gift of the muse’s hand
the emptiness has been removed
born on tapestry of the divine
I’ll forget the who I am

my loneliness was dispelled
as the beats filled the space
the pulse asked me to move
on a path I'll gladly walked

I was not longer judged
by my own damning eye
harmony replaced judgment's taint
purity returning to that space

reprieve from reality
joy found in the musicality
rapture found at God’s feet
with another in company.

© 2017. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20170616.

I’m really proud of the dance communities I’m associated with. I would put these groups in the social dance end of the spectrum, distant from the competitive / performance dance world.

Why am I proud? They follow the group inclusion suggestions I found in the article “59 Percent of Millennials Raised in a Church Have Dropped Out—And They’re Trying to Tell Us Why”. These are:

** Create authentic communities with a shared purpose centered around service (dance).
** Create and train a team of CONNECT people whose purpose is to seek out the outliers on Sunday mornings (at dances) or during other events. Explicitly teach people these skills as they do not come naturally to most of the population.
** Stop placing blame on individuals who struggle to get connected. For some people, especially those that are shy or struggle with anxiety, putting yourself out there even just once might be an overwhelming task. We have to find ways to bridge that gap.

I wanted to play with the verses "You trick your lovers / That you're wicked and divine" from the Muse song "Undisclosed Desires". I couldn’t quite meet the denotation of the source, with the effort turned into the poem "My Partners".


My Partners

I tell my lovers
that I'm innocent
while my moves betray
I'm something else
should I say partners
there are no beaus here
only the willing
to move with the groove.

Angelic perhaps
if measured with squint
eyes turned toward heaven
ignore the quick feet
it's my time to shine
away from the boring
just like Fred Astair
(as I kid myself).

Attraction beseeches
company present
beautiful creatures
move closer to me
I'll take no measures
undue liberties
just my gratitude
expressed in the dance.

I'll set the pace
to music's request
it is my leader
the tempo demands
there is no devil
I'll take the fifth
the lyrics of swing
will take the reproach.

Hear me my partners
lovers you're not
still almost as good
when tunes fill our heads
innocent to dance
our license to sin
perhaps not that word
as movements transcend.

© 2017, Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20170331.

An online poetry competition asked for a poem that described how I released tension. The competition further requested that the poem be twenty-six lines in length. “Twenty-Six Lines to Release” was my contribution to the challenge.


Twenty-Six Lines to Release

In twenty-six lines I’ll find release
not of a drug laid in neat rows
instead by direction of music’s muse
on the dance floor where bodies press
move beyond the place of tension’s chains
by path of melody and partner’s charm
hand to hand to show the way
passing beyond the worried day.

(and can this cure apply to all?)

Don’t ask me to share this restorative
self-medication comes just for one
that steps beyond the daily strains
into realms where two are blessed
associates in the frolic’s spins
are independent though it may seem
that comforts found rely without
when peace is found within the heart.

(and what of those you hold to hand?)

Through knowledge of the larger whole
my place conjoined to those who dance
responsibility has lost its bite
when turned to creation’s manifest
bodies are meant to move with joy
synchronized to heaven’s gifts
meshed to urges found down below
the middle path finds perfect bliss.

2016, Sean Green. All Rights Reserved, 20161227.