dancing defiant….

I need to dance with a barefoot heart,
to twirl in the darkness of the wee hours
and wriggle free,
unloading heavy things
into hands so warm and open and available
they tug the sun up through the woods
while the birds prattle joy
and candles burn slow
flickering sandalwood and spruce
and I take it in hungry
and look into the face of light.

so there is somewhere for the torment
to tumble out and go,
all this anger
over hurtful things
schmeared on thick and painful

while my stomach screams hard for justice and change
and my hands burn to throw rocks at everything cruel,
to stone it until the rage drains off
and my heart goes peaceable again


and when I need to lay my mind down
on something soft and tender-strong
and remember again the shepherd psalm
and take in faithfulness wrapped in skin

I can dance on it,
paint and sing and shout it out
in stuff that speaks like prayer
and I will hope,
against the dark.

“It is the small things,  everyday deeds of ordinary folk,
-The Hobbit