A Chain of Creation

**We are less than a month away from the season 9 premiere of my favorite television series, So You Think You Can Dance. This is a good time for a look at the process of choreography and the poetry in motion that is dance…

Words are just the beginning.

A well-turned phrase

A superb metaphor or two

Strung together in rhythm

And sometimes rhyme

And a poem is born.

Poetry is just the beginning.

Lyrics overlay a catchy melody

Inventive harmonies and instrumentation

Composed with coordinating rhythm

Or sometimes syncopation

And a song is born.

A song is just the beginning

Music inspires athletic movement

Turns and lines strung together

Choreographed precisely

Or sometimes improvised

And a dance is born.

The Need for Artists

Blank canvas

Yearning for paint

Needing a painter to express

The beauty hidden within

Blank page

Waiting for words

Needing a writer to express

The story hidden inside

Blank score

Waiting for notes

Needing a musician to express

The emotions hidden in silence

Blank stage

Waiting for action

Needing actors to express

The stories hidden behind curtains

Blank clay

Waiting for molding

Needing a sculptor to express

The shape hidden inside

Collateral Damage

I’ve not been a writer for very long, but I am learning so much from this process. One of my most powerful lessons has been the collateral damage that comes along with being a regularly practicing writer. When I did my writing on the computer, I never witnessed this particular destruction. However, now that I have reverted (expanded?) to using pen and paper, I have begun to witness death more frequently. In fact, just this morning it happened again. I was sitting in the diner writing my morning pages and I killed another pen. It seemed too soon. I hadn’t yet completely recovered from the loss of the one before, yet here I was guilty of another murder. I’ve lost count now of how many of these deaths I am responsible for.