Atelier Visit

Consecrated Offering
(for Joseph Beckles)

steel ripens into bird of paradise

April smelted from gifts in the periodic table

& sweat soaking a master drummer’s forearms

insinuating tambourine stitches single dancers

into a circle hissing with the alchemy of unlocking shackles

shivering in the friction of transformation

iron into sequin   slavery into jewelry

forged from bees wax   rhythm   passion

haunting crossroads at Ile Ife

meaning unsheathed from metal

stunned as a cymbal consecrated by a master’s sticks & splashing sweat

reverence in paint   arch in stirred pigment

stem of holiness at the unguarded root

of dangerous witness & committed living

sip from a woman’s tilted neck

blush at her curved shoulder

bow at her foot poised between heel & toe

of what elements are dancers made?

combustion   concussion   offering

believing hands

ripening flower  smelting April

finding haven in the fusion of still movement

Peter J. Harris

9/10/05