.

The Dance

When Arsis and Thesis met on the dance floor,
one bowed to the other, the other implored:
“Let’s strike up the band now with haste and due speed.
Why wait for the others? We’re all that we need!”

Away they both flew over polished blond boards,
the grace and the charm of their movements drew roars.
A glide and a turn, elevé and plié,
gavotte, sarabande, allemande, and bourrée.

What more could one hope for, this dance so divine,
one stares and one wonders, could this have been mine?
A skill of such beauty, an art now so rare,
Terpsichore lives yet and beckons you dare.

.

Poet’s Note: “The Dance” was very much inspired by my Stanford advisor and musicology professor George Houle (1927-2017) who would never let his students forget the importance of arsis (lifting the foot/upbeat) and thesis (lowering the foot/downbeat) in our study of Baroque music.

.

.

Vera Kochanowsky, a resident of the Washington DC area, is an early music specialist, harpsichordist, and choral director. She has published two books, the first a revision of her father’s memoirs (Lenin, Hitler and Me) which details his escapes from communist Russia and Nazi Germany, and the second (Anna and Boris: The Love Letters), a translation of her parents’ correspondence during and just after World War II. A third book, her first book of poetry, will be released in September – 101 Haiku: A Journey Through the Seasons.

NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets.

The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.

 

***Read Our Comments Policy Here***

 

3 Responses

  1. Roy Eugene Peterson

    You brought the art of the dance to the art of poetry like a beautiful ballet smoothly executed in musical time and rhyme.

    Reply
  2. Margaret Coats

    Vera, your composition combining many music and dance words forms, as well, an excellent classical invitation to those “polished blond boards.” I appreciate the complementary names of the partners, as my choirmaster continually instructs his singers on proper placement of arsis and thesis in chant. You know, as an early music specialist, how difficult that can be in unmetered Gregorian passages–and how much it contributes to the essential beauty of words sung! It can, however, be ours. You inspire confidence!

    Reply
  3. Vera Kochanowsky

    Dear Margaret,
    Thanks for your observations and kind words! Indeed, as a choral director myself, I have long worked to try to get singers to realize that music is not just melody. The notes must be hung on some kind of structure and a clear rendering of the underlying pattern of beats, regular or even irregular, really heightens the impact of the text and strengthens the power of the music to move the listener.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.