### ### ### ### ### #### ### ### ### #### ### ### ##### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ##### ### ### ########## ### ### ########## ### ### ### ### Underground eXperts United Presents... ####### ## ## ####### # # ####### ####### ####### ## ## ## ## ##### ## ## ## ## ## #### ## ## #### # # ####### ####### ####### ## ## ## ## ##### ## ## ## ## ## ####### ####### # # ####### ####### ####### [ I Dance in Circles from the Bridge ] [ By Jay DeKalb ] ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ I Dance in Circles from the Bridge by Jay DeKalb My eyes are cast on the rippled water from up high on the McKenzie Bridge, malleable spine curved over the protective rail. My arms are dead weight and metal fingers rake the water carelessly. Everything is tinted red and creeps through shadows. I draw a weak fist and shake the river water. The wind screams like a slaughterhouse. I am too heavy, even for the guardrail and I fight gravity like a puppet in amateur hands. Unnaturally I fling parts of myself into the red atmosphere but even death demands a moment of control I will not remain here forever. Gathering strength, I synchronize my limbs as a pendulum and drag over the rail onto the lip of the bridge and the pendulum breaks into beats of three into one two THREE! I shoot forward with gained momentum, limp in self-pity and both hands now scrape the sky but the world falls quiet at an instant reality repositions and flashes bright and I hang in pure silence- stunned. Fade like the moon back onto the bridge In rage at failure, I reform the pendulum. I kick my foot straight into a clear blue sky, Over the orange body of the sun. For a moment I vacillate between the water and the sky. I find that my spine has realigned to hold an equilibrium. But before the fall I swing through the quiet air back onto the bridge, completing yet another circle, landing lightly and amazed still spinning in circles, each less constricted than the last and the space on the bridge expands and my circles grow wider as I flail in joy and exploration -then collapse in exhaustion. The stillness bears down Tap, tap, tap The McKenzie river sounds again. The waves lift and lower their feet, rippling a beat as to introduce a song. They tap their feet and toes tickle the air in a low hmmmmm Trees lean over both sides of the river banks, bow their backs and play the wind like a violin with a soft chord rising in intensity and coaxing the birds into quick whistles and a distinct rhythm that invokes otters onto sun-warmed, ivory rocks in the river- clapping and answering the awakened world with melodious voice as Yellow Scotch Broom comes undone, swinging wild in a spontaneous dance of reconciliation with the earth and the rhythm catches me up I step, step step. I step, step step circling myself and dancing to the music that raises its voice and the violinists sway over, gaining momentum as they work the wind into a thousand held notes notes that overlap each other split seconds at a time while the melody quickens in pace. The whistling birds and the tap and tickle of the river current battle for the forefront. It's loud. I am singing and shouting instead of brooding over thoughts and I step, step step. I dance in circles from the bridge. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- uXu #599 Underground eXperts United 2002 uXu #599 Call THE YOUNG GODS -> +351-1XX-XXXXX ---------------------------------------------------------------------------