Journey to Ixtlan

The poem “Each is a Dance” was inspired by the single thought that there was not enough dance in the world.


Each is a Dance

To dance once a day is not enough
when the world presses down
asking more than its due
with a weight beyond truth
a short respite whets the taste
desiring more to life presents
grays to blacks are the norm
exclaiming whispers instead of howls

a thousand contracts with as many lies
demand attention outside of life
if the word may be applied
to the mire that it presents
the humdrum droning buzz
demands relief by playful means
just enough to draw the eye
away from boredom’s consequence

by the flesh or by the prance
each is a dance in itself
or perhaps by a craft
the many means to sway the heart
all these combine to satisfy
more than once soothes the pain
erases torment from in its path
piling on the passionate.

2019. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20190216.

The poem “Child” is about fully living life in expression and action. I take incredible joy when I see examples of this, and wish this for all my friends.


Child

Show me why you’re smiling
point me to the source
there I'll see our God
that would be my hope

speak the words of passion
voiced unto all things
when the breadth is filled
my ears will be relieved

laugh again fully
enough to fill the world
with the joyous sound
I'll know is well

dance to music spoken
hopefully I may hear
dwelling in your heart
the world embraced today

these I ask in passing
to know that you are well
a child of our deity
expressing your divinity.

© 2017, Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20170216.

An article about the social side of dance, along with a photo I took recently, prompted me to write the poem “Love’s Sweet Joy”. Going through life mechanically is not enough when the joy of others is a goal. Social graces can make up for technical challenges, or in a more perfect world, take an encounter far above and beyond the base potential.


Love’s Sweet Joy

Purpose held to matters high
on my knees to set the time
celebrate the rush of life
in shadow’s space of love’s pure light.

To see is not enough by far
when efforts ask for something more
to stake the claim in heaven’s field
move will to yield the fruit’s ripe bloom.

Outcomes come and outcomes go
set to vanish in time’s deep hole
the journey is the maker’s mark
tasked to focus on the heart.

Do not rush the effort’s pace
rich rewards are there to take
if consequence is number one
instead of systems put to thumb.

Reciprocate if just by word
to recite bliss that’s understood
cheering feedback asks for more
as efforts double to onward go.

All good things must end in time
the journey there is one to share
when rich rewards pour forth in glee
the efforts bless your company.

To genuflect, bow and scrape
reject these not in your embrace
when life offers fertile fields
of love’s sweet joy to be revealed.

2016, Sean Green. All Rights Reserved, 20161021.

One of my poetry themes is “tears”. I solicited a friend for feedback on why people cry. They shared their thoughts, and the common conclusion that tears are from the heart, be they tears of relief or tears of pain. The poem “Drown the World” explores the subject of tears from both of these sides.


Drown the World
Poem for Day 273 – 20151001

Ask me why I wipe my eyes,
I'll say that I fear for the land,
that the dry will be consumed
by the torrents that wait inside.
There is a common thread,
similarity of all my tears.
They come from the heart,
expressions of life's emotions.

Mark the moment in time,
the one promised by fairy tales,
now found in reality's realm
at the beckoning of bent knee.
The tears of love rush from joy,
knowledge of separateness resolved,
two streams flowing together
into the reservoir of the one.

In contrast are the harsh moments,
eyes blinded, unable to see,
small mercy as the cuts run red,
scattered drops with weeping blend.
The tears of defeat fight the pain,
to drown the fires of inner rage.
Seeking to wash away the shame
from the soul by life now soiled.

I wonder if I can resolve
this relating to such a vibrant world,
so full of the cruel and the kind,
releasing an ocean from the heart.
My emotion is unpaused,
lamenting and celebrating,
my heart afloat on a sea of tears
enough to drown the world.

© 2015, Sean Green. All Rights Reserved.

I convert my original color photos to a pseudo "infrared" version... and the photo set from the 02/08/14 contra dance shares a pics that speaks to the multiple levels of joy experienced while dancing.

This picture symbolizes the juxtaposition between social dancing, the joy of a dancing partner, and the self rapture of the dancer.  The self rapture is the most personal and most intense joy of them all.



All of the black and white pics can be found here.  The color pics from the same night are here, here and here.