Dervish

I cross my toes beneath my body as I bow.
Humbled to your gaze I rise again
And uncoil the long leaves of my arms.

You have nailed a bone of trust through my left foot.
I set my eyes on the one constant point:
The cup of air between a finger and a thumb.

I lean into this space. My body gives
And follows, one foot pressed into the floor,
The other rising, pushing to the pulse.

I wind within you like a bobbin winds a string.
A hundred voices sing around me--I hear one.
I am the fleeting axis of a constant world.

I slow, and fold my arms against my chest.
You settle loose and soft around my feet.
I cross my toes beneath my body as I bow.