I Wish I'd Written This

We Have Come to Be Danced

We have come to be danced
not the pretty dance
not the pretty pretty, pick me, pick me dance
but the claw our way back into the belly
of the sacred, sensual animal dance
the unhinged, unplugged, cat is out of its box dance
the holding the precious moment in the palms
of our hands and feet dance

We have come to be danced
not the jiffy booby, shake your booty for him dance
but the wring the sadness from our skin dance
the blow the chip off our shoulder dance
the slap the apology from our posture dance

We have come to be danced
not the monkey see, monkey do dance
one, two dance like you
one two three, dance like me dance
but the grave robber, tomb stalker
tearing scabs & scars open dance
the rub the rhythm raw against our souls dance

We have come to be danced
not the nice invisible, self conscious shuffle
but the matted hair flying, voodoo mama
shaman shakin’ ancient bones dance
the strip us from our casings, return our wings
sharpen our claws & tongues dance
the shed dead cells and slip into
the luminous skin of love dance

We have come to be danced
not the hold our breath and wallow in the shallow end of the floor dance
but the meeting of the trinity: the body, breath & beat dance
the shout hallelujah from the top of our thighs dance
the mother may I?
yes you may take 10 giant leaps dance
the Olly Olly Oxen Free Free Free dance
the everyone can come to our heaven dance

We have come to be danced
where the kingdoms collide
in the cathedral of flesh
to burn back into the light
to unravel, to play, to fly, to pray
to root in skin sanctuary
We have come to be danced
WE HAVE COME

– Jewel Mathieson

Forgive me if you know this poem already; I see it is all over the net. I saw it for the first time when someone shared it on facebook. I think it is one that no-one could help but respond to, it's so full of verve and passion. Luckily, even if you have seen it before, I'm sure you won't be able to help thrilling to it all over again.

As if that's not enough, now try hearing the poet present it on YouTube, and really get your socks knocked off! There are some others who love it and recite it very well, but no-one matches the author's controlled ferocity! At first I thought it was a bit too much, but soon I was absorbed in it and taken over by it. There's nothing to be done but surrender oneself wholly.

She has an artist page on facebook, which gives us the information:

I'm a breast cancer survivor, dancer, award-winning storyteller, poetry slam champion & an internationally published poet. I've been teaching movement for over 20 years, with an emphasis in the 5Rhythms™ practice of Gabrielle Roth.

(Gabrielle Roth's work is ground-breaking. I still cherish the memory of reading her first book, Maps to Ecstasy. If you don't know about her, catch up quick on Wikipedia.)

Jewel Mathieson's facebook page is called 

Jewel Mathieson 5Rhythms WordDance or you can search for her  @jeweldancerpoet. (There is another artist called Jewel Mathieson, who is not this one.)

For a special treat, at this Jewel Mathieson's page, click on 'My Band' in the menu at top left to find a number of other vibrant, and vibrantly performed poems, with a background of music.

Material shared in 'I Wish I'd Written This' is presented for study and review. Poems, photos and other writings remain the property of the copyright owners, usually their authors.