Cooking up a Song with a New Poem

I was going to write  a post about why I think I’m so obsessed with cooking and writing about food.  It’s about self-nurturing.

I read an International Women’s Day challenge for women to go out for a meal by themselves, because – the writer said – women won’t go out alone.  And I thought, even better is the challenge to cook yourself a nice meal at home.  I do it all the time.  Yes.  I am worth it. Besides, I don’t see anyone else cooking for me and I like to eat good food, so I do.

But more than that, I think it’s about living in such a temporary situation.  I’ve had 10 addresses in 2 and 1/2 years in Brighton, preceded by 48 addresses in 3 years in Spain. Yes, I pay the rent, and the bills, and am a good tenant…so why? you may well ask.  Why, indeed?! Not by choice, I assure you!    I need to feel like I have a home. Cooking – self-nurturing through meal preparation – is my way of home-making.

…And I’ve got this poem.  I wrote the notes for it while I was living in Barcelona.  One night listening to a bass player, I jotted it down, and last week I finally got round to working on it.  Only about 4 years later. I so need a permanent home! I also started working on a melody and have done several recordings.  It isn’t yet a song, but I love it and want to share it.  It’s something new I have to say. So here it is.

She dances barefoot in the dew of the morning
washes her feet as they glide through the grass
the long blades caress the curve of her calves
lick the heat of the night from her thighs
and she sings to the world around her,
sings so all may hear

we are fragile species, interwoven with life
let us dance together in the wide open space
let us dance together in fields of green
seeded with color brought by wind
let us dance with the flowers of the rainbow
filled with the sweet honey of life

let us dance in the wide open space of life
let us dance in the wide open space of love
let us dance in the wide open space of sky
let us dance in the wide open space of song
let us dance in the brilliance of star-studded night
let us dance in the mystical universe
let us dance with all the species
we are interwoven with life

and she dances while the sun burns high
and she dances till the sun burns orange
and she dances till the sun slips
deep in the indigo sky
then lays herself down to die another death
lies dormant till the morning dew
creeps across her virgin flesh
kisses her brow with the joy of new life
and she sucks the nectar from the rainbow of flowers
feeds her oh! so sweet and innocent soul
and dances, dances,
dances barefoot
in the morning dew
washes her feet as they glide through the grass

all rights reserved, Alison Boston