A Dance Poem by Daniel Brick
A Dance
In Memoriam
Victims of the Paris Massacre
November 13,2015
Oh, the nights in Paris!
We have been temporary Parisians
for two weeks, and every hour
our delight is keener. We might
expect to be jaded, weary of nocturnal
pleasures, ready to sink into complacency
and complaint. But no exhaustion
of body and soul assails us. We are like
pilgrims refreshed after reaching their goal,
celebrating a festival of expectations,
in a city where the clocks run backwards
giving us more time than we consume.
Just yesterday we bonded with strangers,
all of us neighbors of the autumn night
which welcomed us, as if honey spilled out of
the moon's interior and fell to earth
along with its pale blue light
to sweeten everything it touched,
flowing over us, making even the saddest
person among us shine with simple pleasure.
After the concert, we shuffled toward the exit,
pressed body to body, all of us smiling because
some inner delight in each of us stretched forth,
blending together in the warmth of the moment.
When we hit the street, and the cold air
slapped our cheeks, we suddenly joined hands,
and began to dance in a long line of revelers,
twisting and swaying, singing snatches of songs,
or just shouting our joy to the moon. Pedestrians
with other goals to reach joined our ranks,
all of us laughing at the sheer nonsense
of all this frivolity. We became for that moment
what we are meant to be - one body becoming one soul.
And then almost as quickly as it began,
the dance came to its end, as people hugged and separated.
And we dispersed, under the honeyed light of the moon.
people who were enjoying the arts of peace, sharing a night of pleasure in each other's company. The terrorists consider such communal joy offensive to their beliefs and murder to be a proper response to assert their difference.
I read the many responses to this horrendous twisted attitude in poems posted over the past several hours, and soon felt the need to join this chorus of voices affirming the arts of peace. I did what poets do all the time: used my imagination to create an alternate reality, just as attainable
as the violence was among people of good will.
I appreciate your vision. I think it should be actualized! I have a girlfriend in the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and they had a special performance of Bach's Mass in B Minor with the vocal arts ensemble. They opened their performance with a speech that Bernstein made after Kennedy's assassination: 'this will be our resply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before. In an interview, someone said that the attackers have never held a job or a girl's hand.... Your poem demonstrates the power of unity, love, collective soul, to heal and move forward. I'm glad you waited to write until you were ready. I'm saving this one. Your optimism inspires.
One of reasons why I always agreed with Shelley when he commented that imagination is the 'instrument of moral good' as opposed to Plato's ideas is because it can give us some relief, even if it is momentary, amidst a chaotic universe.. The world is falling apart - the centre can certainly not hold anything anymore - and amidst this hurly-burly and dæmonic life that we find ourselves into, art can give us piece.. Thank you Daniel.. May we all - humans - grow some sense into ourselves than hatred, biogotry and fear... Peace..
A great piece of poetry remembering those who have become victim of madness. Loved it.
Very laudable response indeed. The horrendous twisted attitude in response to the terrifyng massacre at Paris is most deplorable. Thank you very much for affirming arts of peace.10+ points.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/19/2024 5:45:58 PM # 1.0.0.1119
Daniel, I am a new reader of your enlightened, lovely poetry. Peace begets Peace', harmony overcomes hatred, and the arts assist. Thank you....Marianne Larsen Reninger