The Dancer - a poem by Liam UiCearbhaill

A little over 20 years ago I learned a little about Arabic rhythms. One of those rhythms,  Masmudi Kabir, still haunts me. This poem was an attempt to reflect that rhythm in verse. Here is a link to compare http://www.maqamworld.com/rhythms/muwashahat2.html#masmudi_kabir

his poem is in the collection Poetry's Purpose

Available for Kindle download at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YX2VZ78

Available in Printed version at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/uicearbhaill

Available for purchase at The Book Juggler http://www.thebookjuggler.com/store.php

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The Dancer

Danced,
The girl danced, she did
And she danced for the crowd to see

Cheered,
The crowd cheered for her
Though her eyes were for only me

Swayed,
Her hips swayed the beat
While her chest moved the other way

Swirled,
The veil flew through air
While the light on her jewels did play

Smiled,
The girl smiled for me
While her moves held my heart in thrall

Danced,
On my heart-strings now
As I to her spell did fall

Freed,
From my mundane life
By the pound of an Arab drum

Caught,
By her kohl-blacked eyes
And the swirl and the sway and the thrum

Stopped
The drum silent now
And the girl on the stage stands still

Thoughts,
Only mem’ry now
But the thought gives my heart a thrill

Here and Now - a poem by Liam UiCearbhaill

This poem is in the collection Poetry's Purpose

Available for Kindle download at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YX2VZ78

Available in Printed version at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/uicearbhaill

Available for purchase at The Book Juggler http://www.thebookjuggler.com/store.php

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Here and Now

The moment is now. It lasts for forever
The place, it is here, unbounded in space
The past is a memory, the future unreal
And here, in this moment, is hidden God’s face

Think not of a somewhere that’s other than here
Think not of a sometime, future nor past
Think not of the should have’s, or could have’s, or will be’s
Think only of now, and the Now, it will last

We hurry from yesterday unto tomorrow
From places we’ve been to places we’ll go
In transit forever and never arriving
Racing through traffic, afraid to go slow

Afraid what we’ll meet if we stop for a moment
Afraid that the mirror will show us our face
Afraid of the nothing that’s hidden inside us
Afraid that we’ll lose if we don’t run the race

And yet we are never escaped from the moment
It holds us more firmly than Heaven or Hell
And here is the place we abide in forever
We cannot be elsewhere, we know this fact well

So be here and be now with all of your being
Drink deep of the present, whatever it brings
Your heart and God’s heart in harmony blending
In this place, in this now, the symphony sings