Dancing Ina Fever Dream
I’ve not been here. I’ll nearly 2 days. This really happened. Enjoy, I hope. And you be wellM
Dancing in a Fever Dream
Ill. From inside a fever. Asleep. I
Began to dream
That I was teaching a ballet class
Wherein I began to demonstrate
The four movement sets for the arms.
And, a sudden moment of deja vu
From a previous dream that may have come
During hours earlier, at the start of the fever,
During which I became frustrated,
Unable to recall the second set of motions and
Had turned over to some dream-free sleep,
But in today’s dream in fever, I
Moved, again leading the class, suddenly
Exhilarated as I , motioning arms, had
A physical memory return of the most eloquent
Of the four: the second port de bras motion set.
In the dream, I did it to be sure of the recollection.
I started through the four steps, done to
A count of eight...so, rais both arms,
1...2 as around a hoop forward. Then,
3. 4, Raise right arm up in an open, arc forward,
With the left arm arced down behind. Then
5 - 6. Is a great sweep to make the pose as a
Complete opposite, left arced up front, right to rear.
7. A breath lifting chest and arms so slinky a raise, elan!
8. Arms lower down to sides, by thighs.
It was this I was teaching in my fever dream,
Counting as I modeled the motions, so happy
I’d remembered, but in the long sweep of the 6 to 7,
I felt rough jostling as my name was shouted.
I’d been teaching, too, outside the fever dream :
A sleeping reality as if awake, by motions and voice,
With swaying arms and called numbers.
“That was weird,” my husband announced.
“Just really weird,” he pronounced: a word unliked.
It was a funny thing to happen, I thought.
And I was happy to realize from decades ago,
From deep in my mind, I’d brought forth again
The 2nd port de bras, with the confidence
Of teaching once again. A joy to know so!
Not “weird.” Maybe “strange.” I laid smiling.
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(c) sally Young eslingerP
Copyright © Sally Eslinger | Year Posted 2021
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