“Dancing is the loftiest, the most moving, the most beautiful of the arts, because it is no mere translation or abstraction from life; it is life itself.”

-- Havelock Ellis

Much of this dance of life is. . .

a lonely waltz in a secret garden hidden behind stone walls. The gate is well hidden, just like the story of ‘The Secret Garden.’ When I entered alone for the first time, it was barren, overgrown with dry high grasses.

Once, someone had loved this place. It took many years of changes, before I felt a need to return to dance there again. I waltzed with my shovel. Did the Twist with a broom. Tapped, against my better judgement, with hoe.

Flowers sat watching, while I brought life back into the soil. Birds came to spy, hoping for a wiggly worm to appear. I, on the other hand, am not too excited about anything that wiggles or crawls about.

One day, I invited a friend to join mE, hoping we might dance together. She was overjoyed to spend time helping mE bring life to what was once a lonely space. With smiles and laughter we not only planted but shared the rewards of being together in friendship. Earth mother was happy once more. Her children were thriving, protected, growing with smiling faces. Lavender scented the breezes that came to call. Lamb's ear, soft and wooly, wandered beneath Foxglove's slender stems filled with blossoms.

I no longer dance alone. New feelings have begun to emerge which I now carry beyond that garden gate of loneliness. My dancing days have not ended, just tamed down a bit. As long as there is music, my garden with continue to grow.

~ Bobute, mE

“And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.”

-- Kahlil Gibran