What makes your soul happy? Is it seeing your favorite band live, feeling the melody soothe your soul? Maybe it’s going to your happy place, watching the waves crash and seeing the tide rush in and fall away? Is it getting lost in the wilderness? Maybe it’s spending time with the person whose soul matches yours? Or going to a tattoo shop to fill your body with more art? Is it curling up with a good book and letting the characters take you to a new world? Is it at the gym, where you push yourself to your limits until you feel an endorphin rush?
For me, it’s dancing. Dancing is what makes my soul shine. I get to be an artist and an athlete all at the same time. The joy of dancing starts when I find the perfect song, one that embodies what I feel. A song that seems to understand me and make me feel heard. As I put my earphones on, I tune out the world. I start to allow myself to move. To let everything go. I study the music and let my body feel the strum of each instrument. Dance is where I put my emotions into motion, and that’s what inspired this poem.
My feet make music
The rhythm in tune with my body
And my thoughts fit into beats,
Whole notes.
Instead of scattered half-notes
And empty full notes
Waiting to be fulfilled.
Timesteps stomp out
The feelings of wanting to go back in time,
The urge to fix the past
And the fear of the future coming too fast.
Timesteps are in perfect rhythm
So I can’t run behind or jump ahead.
Drop swing as you drop away your angst
Throwing down hate
Throwing away self-doubt
Releasing self-loathing
Letting go of shame
Finding power
Picking up acceptance
And inhaling calmness.
Feeling my body shake off the wrongs
And swing back into the rights.
Dancing always brings you back to center.
Slowly leaning to the side, reaching for peace
Quickly pas de bourree to the opposite side
Suspending your leg in the fresh air
Taking a deep breath
And falling back towards the other side
The rocking sensation
Soothes my soul.
Stop spinning out of control.
And start pirouetting into focus
Spotting the one thing that keeps me intact
For seven seconds the word is blurry
And on the eighth count, I gain control
I see myself coming to a half-count pause
I look at myself in the mirror, just for a second
A glance,
A smile
What’s next?
I’m already counts behind
I hope that the time-step stomps out my worries
And brings me back
To the present
This time, I’ll be on time
for the next movement.
What makes your soul happy? What helps you let everything go?
Photo by Blake Cheek on Unsplash
