I speak downfall, the ball of my foot
on the neck of the earth, the hardsong
of the rise of all trees, the jay
who uses the air. I am the recovered sickle
with the grass-stains still on the flint of its teeth.
I am the six-rowed barley
they cut down.
From "Merce of Egypt" by Charles Olson, written for Merce Cunningham.*
Video of Merce Cunningham and company in Septet, 1964, from Google Video.
*You should be able to read the complete poem as it appears in Selected Writings of Charles Olson (New Directions, 1966) at Google Books.
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2 comments:
That man's body is so eloquent, just the 'stills' choke me up.
what singularly powerful verse.
Thank you...
Dave loves both Olson and Cunningham, so this was kind of a Valentine to him.
I have the same response to MC. I am disappointed that there isn't more footage of him on the Web. Have you seen the bio documentary "A Lifetime of Dance?" I gave the DVD to Dave for Xmas a few years ago. It's wonderful. Cunningham is a brilliant, fascinating man.
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