Once I danced with a shaman, a new poem written in Bali

Once I danced with a shaman
She had bangles from wrist to elbow
And she jingled
And she jangled
Her dark eyes were black pools
Of secret knowledge
Other worlds
And deep magick
She pulled me in with the rhythm
Of her body and her magick bracelets
We twirled and swayed
We laughed and laughed
High on something else
On what I am not sure
But I liked it
Our souls understood each other in that moment
Languages different from the tounge
But on that dance floor
We riffed and debated
Conversated
And demonstrated
What it was to connect on another level
Ancient beats
Simple
Uncomplicated
Listen and feel
Move
Feel the joy
And surrender
Thank you to that woman
For liberating me in that moment
She guided me into surrender
And I experienced other worlds
In her twirling twirl
Her toothless smile
Wide all encompassing heart
Black eyes
And abandoned laughter
I did not know her name
Or her village
But I will never forget her
Could have been 111 years old
Or maybe 11
Doesn’t matter
She changed something in me
That night on the dance floor
I remembered something I had long forgotten
And I’m grateful
A relief
A soothing balm
May her and her ancient ways never come to harm
Straight out the jungle for a moment in time
And now she returns
And now we all return
But we remember