a Tribalistas song comes on
just as i'm about to turn off
my computer for the night
i turn off the light instead
turn up the music
close my eyes
raise my arms
& dance

i dance myself to Turks Head
eyes closed
to see the full moon night
remembering so vividly
i can feel that smooth red sand
warm & cool under my feet
the breeze raising the hair on my arms
alone with the river
the desert
the moon

i remember that night
the taste of perfection
simplest purest being
feeling my body as a cell in
the sweet body of the land
a tiny speck in all the history
of all the places
my feet connected to the ground
my fingers intimate with the stars
feeling my spirit bigger than me
climbing out & sinking into
that silt-smooth sand
that ancient river
staying
so that now it is so easy
to dance myself to Turks Head

i see another night
see myself in that same spot
toes in the same orange red sand again
(i might be tempted to roll in it)
bare arms raised & tingly again
just like this
dancing under that Canyonlands sky
red gold white black cliffs
looming dark behind me
moon touched before me
as i dance alone
without music

surrounded by endless stars
softest sand
sculpted rock
the river singing the melodies
singing the harmonies
night birds & night critters
offering occasional haunting solos
the wind whispering lyrics
memories of other dancers
of lizard steps
of bat calls
of raven wings
thunderstorms
& silence

swept up in
the spinning dizzy ancient
song of stars
the pull of the full moon
following the path of the sun
exactly
just like it does everywhere else
in this great gorgeous world

the first time i sat
to write the moment
to watch orion crawl up from behind the cliffs
next time i'm gonna dance
with my eyes wide open
with my arms stretched out
reaching pulling swirling
letting go
grabbing hold

next time i'm gonna dance
& i'm gonna think of Carnivália
la canción de los Tribalistas
& i'm gonna memorize it all over again
let some more of my spirit seep in
for the next time
i'm gonna dance to that song
alone in my dark office
with my eyes closed
dancing myself back to Turks Head
just like i'm doing tonight