Dance Our Way Home has taught me to listen to my body more attentively and has encouraged me to celebrate my womanhood (an opportunity our culture seldom provides).

— Catherine Raine

Essence, by Leslie Jennings

By Leslie Jennings, 2008

Ecstatic gliding and sliding
Joy bursting forth
Like a volcanic eruption of the heart

Spinning dervishes of delight
Whirling and twirling
To the pulsating echoes of the drum inside my chest

What splendor tickles my eyes
With sparks and flares
Of passion and joy

Golden hues of sunlight caress
Supple pink pockets of flesh
Engulfed in your beautiful radiance

How can you deny
The music pounding in the depths
Of my inner ear

You are the essence
Of my very being
The ripple on my pond

See what I see
Feel what I feel
And know your true self

 

* written about the women who dance at DOWH