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Friday, July 8, 2011

dancer

muscles and tendons, pressed against skin


further defined by a sheen of sweat
glistening under lights
unseen hours condensed into minutes
effort made effortless
bodies unrestrained by gravity or ligaments
stretching gliding spinning leaping

grace and power articulated in space
transforming music into something more

the prompt:
"What you know" doesn't necessarily always mean "your comfort zone." For this week, take what you know out of your comfort zone. Switch it up. See where it takes you.

I might not "know" dance the way some people know dance.
But I do know I love it.

30 comments:

  1. Very poetic. I can't dance. Not at all. No rhythm.

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  2. I think I like this line the best, as it seemed entirely poetic and spoke to me most:
    I might not "know" dance the way some people know dance.
    But I do know I love it.

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  3. WOW. This is what dancing feels like exactly. I loved the line "unseen hours condensed into minutes" Condensed is such a lovely word and the way you have used it here made me sigh. Lovely work.

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  4. this is beautiful. I love that there is no capitalization. It seems to make the piece flow...no definite beginning or end.
    Really, really great work... having BEEN a dancer, you are right.. this is exactly how it feels. :)

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  5. I really like the lower case lettering. It feels intimate and important. Great chocie you made there.
    My favorite line is

    "grace and power articulated in space" ....few people get that you can use movement to speak just as much as words and you went all super ironic on us. Excellent

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  6. Ooh! Poetry! Good for you to try something different - I really liked the flow of it!

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  7. Nice! Your words moved in an intricate dance themselves....very lovely. I also love the lower case...in some way, it fits the aesthetic of the words. I love the line: "bodies unrestrained by gravity of ligaments." That to me describes a dancer perfectly. 

    Great piece!

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  8. Oh Any, this was exquisite...so beautiful. That last line brought tears to my eyes. Wow!

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  9. This was lovely. I love "effort made effortless"

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  10. Yay friend! I really like that you went for poetry!!

    I adore the words that you chose like sheen, glistening, transform- all like a dance in themselves.

    Lovely!

    XO

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  11. I'm impressed you did poetry. That is definitely out of my comfort zone, so much so I couldn't bring myself to try :)

    This was very beautiful. Simple and elegant. I could see the dancer moving amongst your words :)

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  12. You brave poet! Writing poetry, and reading it,  scares the beegeezus out of me. What I really liked about this was that I felt like I was watching a single dancer on stage, as if they were in motion right that very second.

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  13. I was scared, too.  It's not that I don't write it, but I definitely don't put it out there often.

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  14. Oh thank you!  I wanted it to have movement, so I'm glad that came through.

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  15. Since it was short, I tried to choose my words quite carefully :)  xoxo

    (I noticed "locks" in the Richard/Em scene today, ooh la la)

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  16. Hopefully my own effort appeared (somewhat) effortless.  It took me just as long to write that as a 600 word fiction post!

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  17. This is what happens when I watch So You Think You Can Dance when I'm supposed to be writing ;) xoxo

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  18. Thank you!  I wanted it to "move" and capitalization and punctuation was stopping my eye moving across the page, so I took it out!

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  19. It's a short one, so hopefully it didn't offend poetry writers too much.  Poetry is NOT my strong suit :)

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  20. Thank you so very much!  "intimate and important" is a cool juxtaposition

    I love watching a story unfold through the body of a dancer.  It's amazing what they can do with their bodies.

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  21. That's a lovely compliment from someone that used to dance!  I stopped (well, except for bars and weddings LOL) years and years ago, but I still enjoy watching it so much :)

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  22. Thank you!  They work so hard, and we only see such a tiny bit of it as the audience.

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  23. I definitely love watching it :)

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  24. Yes! *Love* that word from *you!* XO

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  25. I love that you did poetry! That certainly falls way out of my comfort zone. And your poem makes me really wish I could dance, which I most definitely CAN NOT. Well done.

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  26. BEautiful!!! I love that you braved poetry...something which I cannot do AT ALL, but really appreciate it!
    You wrote so well, I felt as though I was watching my daughter dance.

    Great job!

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  27. Poetry! What a great change from the norm! I think you did a great job capturing dance.... I envisioned a ballet couple practicing for hours and then the performance.

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  28. I wish I could dance, too!  I love to do it, in that awkward "this is my favorite song (and they're all my favorite) and I can't just sit here!" way that most people give up after college.  Sigh.  I am really going to embarass my kids one day.

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  29. Oh thanks Kelly!  That is such a sweet compliment.

    I hope you are enjoying your writing time :)

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  30. Thank you!  I'm scared of it, but I love reading it, so I thought I'd try it!

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