Modern Poems · Modern Spirit · Spontaneous writing

Today, I AM With Lights

Annabel

“The body is much smarter and the mind”, my one dance master once remarked. I was skeptical at first, but not anymore. With more than two decades experience in dance and embodied practice, I know, without a doubt, that our bodies are sacred, magical, and magnificent in every way.

Today, I am sharing my one recent project “Today, I Am With Lights”, in which I documented the “interactions” between the natural lights and my body from 7am to 7pm on a specific day. No, this project is not about dance or choreography.  It’s about witnessing a connection, a relation, an activation, and a cosmic encounter, which happens to all of us in everyday life.  It’s about embarking on a journey of becoming one with the life forces that nurture, uplift, and inspire humanity and an adventure of discovering the beguiling force that drives us as humans. It’s an experiment of the ways and the means of archiving the intangible, the invisible, and mundane yet mighty immaterial life forces/substances. 

I am a fervent advocate for the body and sincerely wish we can all treat our bodies with kindness, respect, and honour. Take a moment to stretch with me if you can. Enjoy the moves and song playlists as well! 


7:20 am 
Another morning of a late winter day: soft, dim, and chilly.  
I wake up before the sun, 
still sleepy. 

8:23 am
The dim lights are landing on my eyelids, my fingertips, my big toes, and my hips.  
The rays are weaving a circular invisible spider web around my body.
I am curious and I lift it up gently.  

9:42 am
A call is just a call.  I didn’t pick it up.

10:47 am 
Rest in lights? My cat knows it better. 
I am observing him….

11:53 am
Squares and triangles, 
The lights and I are sculpting shapes known and unknown.
Coronal plane and transverse plane,
The lights and I are exploring spaces physical and metaphysical. 
Shadows and glares,
I am a blessed child in the playground. 

12:12 pm
You found me.
I want to know how forever feels like. 

1:31 pm
Can the walls feel more about the lights than I do now?
Are they already befriended each other?
I am just asking….

2:14 pm
Some days are easier,
Some days are harder,
I need to take care of myself. 

3:49 pm
The lights are peeking through my embroidered white curtains,
They look genteel and feminine,
I adore this beauty most ardently!

And if I do look a bit goofy now, 
It's because I am feeling groovy. 

4:39 pm
Jumps, spins, some balancè,
Such warmth and brightness,
Life is a beautiful thing when you are happy!

5:20 pm
It’s 5 now!
Slow down, sip in, and grow taller with each stretch….

6:30 pm
I borrow a pinch of lights to cursive my name in space,
I close my eyes all day to see if I can decipher its meaning,
What is written but a form of vanity, visible only to God.
When we pull down the masks, our soul undressed in lights,
All the wandering and wasted years, the moon is my witness. 

7:13 pm
The girl who lets you rest and roar won’t look at me. 
In each of us, there is a familiar stranger, 
a shadow that can be detected by lights and,
a star-river that dances perennially in shadows.

In your eyes,
I’ve admired my immortality;
In my veins,
I’ve glown for a thousand eternities.

Thank you for visiting, dear friends! 🌻🥳 Many blessings sending to you and your body!!

Photo by Jeff Vinluan on Pexels.com

More soon,

Annabel 🌷

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Published by Annabel

Just a woman who writes her heart out, unapologetically……

41 thoughts on “Today, I AM With Lights”

  3. You have a wonderful way with words, dear Annabel, and I absolutely love how you move with the light! Magnificent, indeed. So, too, as with each season your natural beauty continues to glow more lovely. You’re often on my mind, and I wish for you all the best in life, my friend. Thanks for sharing! 🌷❤️😇

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    1. Thank you for the generous and kind words, Phil! ☺️ you are so wonderful!

      This project will go as a tiny part of my dissertation. So the 12 hours work doesn’t go wasted, haha 🤪.

      Enjoy a fresh Spring full of sunshine, comfort, and delights! 🌻🥂

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      2. Haha, great point! no wonder I couldn’t get rid of him 😅😁. I was only fostering him and he was supposed to be back in the rescue centre before I left my last residence. But the centre got bankrupted. I had to take him travel with me and cross the ocean to be here….😂

        Liked by 2 people

  8. I love so much the way the time stamps create this amazing flow of time throughout the poem and show how thoughts and feelings change in the span of just a short time. And how peaceful and beautiful is the video! ❤

    Liked by 3 people

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  9. Wow👏🏾! What a beautiful tapestry of light you have created here Annabel 👏🏾. I honestly love how you have interwoven your poetry and dance, both freeform and exploring, peering through the nature of being 👏🏾👏🏾. I love how you capture different moments with your poetry and with such deep and philosophical introspection.

    I especially love the stanzas on 6:30pm and 7:13pm. I was so moved by them and how the final lines powerfully finished the poem.

    I found myself remarking the other day, how I love how one finds stillness in watching your dance, learning to listen to and follow each movement.

    Thank you for sharing this Annabel 🙂 It seems Spruce is now part of the audience and loves being around you. It was so sweet to see the subtle interactions between you in this video as well.

    Many blessings to you too Annabel 🙂 and to Spruce as well :D. Today I’ll make sure to treat myself to a relaxing evening walk and some tea. Sending you much light and gratitude :).

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Wow! Nelson is here! 😃Thank you so much for such a generous comment!

      I am happy that you liked this post and your feedback about my light project is important for me to know. This project came out of the question of “how do we archive the invisible and the intangible?” I experimented on employing embodied experience to archive non-textual substances. I was surprised by how much the light-body interactions changed my psychic states from one moment to the next 🤪.

      And yes, Spruce was helpful just by being himself in the space with me🥳! He’s got his spotlights in the video, haha.

      Evening walk and some tea sounds very cozy and comforting! 🍵🌻 Let us know how it goes and you will probably come up with a poem about it 👍😎.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. You are most welcome! That’s a very interesting question especially in wondering how to archive the intagible and how our bodies and being interact with them in each moment. I am in awe in how that question came to you and how your project creatively explores it, immersing yourself in each subtle moment and expresses your body’s response to them both in movement and poetry. It’s really fascinating it brought changes to your psychic state, I wonder if the immersion and connection to the different moments and shades of light was part of what brought it?

        😄 funny enough the walks did bring about a poem, my cat (Lucky) loves to join me in them and before I know it I’m the one who is following her (she always makes sure to walk ahead of me for some reason 😄)

        Seeing, reading and listening to your project makes me immerse myself in stillness for a moment, curious to notice and take in the subtle moments around me. Thank you for sharing your project with us Annabel 🙂 and here’s to wishing you many more wonderful moments and beautiful creative endevours 🌻🌻.

        Liked by 3 people

      2. I appreciate your generous and kind words immensely, Nelson! 🍀😃 What a treat to read you here!

        The shades and brightness levels of the sunlight influence both our physical and the mental states tremendously. It’s one big secret of the body that rarely anyone cares to contemplate, which is sad…😬

        What a lovely name your cat has! Very auspicious! Luck is with both of you🍀!

        Looking forward to reading your new poem! 🌻

        Liked by 2 people

      3. That’s so true as I think about it and relate to my own experiences, there’s always something about certain times of the day with sunlight that have a great influence for me. You have me looking forward to a new day (as I write this comment) to take notice and be present to light:) I can’t wait!

        I’m certainly so grateful she chose where I live to call home:) and made life all the more colourful, as I am sure Spruce does for you as well:)

        Wishing you all the best and more Annabel! 🌻🌻

        Liked by 2 people

      5. 🫂🫂🫂🫂 There are moments when words can’t express one’s gratitude, this is definitely is one of them. In their place I send many warm hugs to you my dear friend, to you a radiant star everblooming, may your journey grow in beauty and soar ever higher:). 🌷🌻

        Liked by 1 person

      6. You always know the best words to praise, Nelson! ☺️🌷 I am humbled, and actually, very happy to receive such kind words from you! Sending positive vibes to you!!

        Liked by 1 person

  10. Wow. Great poem Annabel about the body and other things you mentioned that I cannot recall anymore. Indeed the body is a magical part.

    I like how you divided the times into sections and giving a detailed info under each time. Nice post

    💯🙏🙏

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Wow, thank you so much for visiting and commenting, Mthobisi! 🥳

      I am delighted to know your input on my post! Sending you gratitudes and positive vibes! 🥂🌻

      Like

      Reply

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