The Waltz of the Dancing Stars

Burning Bright

“One must have chaos in oneself in order to give birth to a dancing star.”

(Friedrich Nietzsche)

It all started the other day when I read this quote by Friedrich Nietzsche and posted it here. I got to the quote because my head was bubbling and, I suppose, you could say chaotic. That shortest of short posts settled me as blogging so often does.

But, when you started to comment, dear friends, I found myself moving from thoughts of chaos to dancing stars and all they might entail.

Yes, dancing stars like Michael Flatley spring to mind and all the other greats that I should know about but don’t (yet).

Dancing stars have evoked thoughts of many, many things over the last few days.

• Twinkling eyes
• Floating snowflakes
• The glistening teeth of Seve Ballesteros when I saw  lusted after him at The Irish Open in Mount Juliet some years back
• Lying on my parent’s bed as a kid ‘helping’ my Mother to get ready to go out for an evening and running my fingers along her string of pearls
• Watching Richard Clayderman’s hands caressing the keys of a grand piano at the RDS in Dublin
• Star-gazing in the depths of February in 2009 when son Harry and I spent a week in a remote little cottage on the Burren in Co. Clare
• Playing mixed doubles at the St. Anne’s Open Tennis Week in Waterford and having an unexpected meeting with bright, bright stars when I failed to get out of the way of my partner’s brilliant first serve!
• This great quote from Oscar Wilde:

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars

Where do ‘dancing stars’ bring YOU?

Poetry in Motion ~ Gatherings from Ireland # 204

Rose ‘Poetry in Motion’

The concept of ‘Poetry in Motion’ is one that resonates hugely with me and I even went as far as buying a rose back in February that had that name. It is now in full bloom and I’ve been thinking more and more about who and what symbolizes ‘poetry in motion’ most for me. It has been an interesting ‘internal’ debate because it has made me realise that what I seem to admire most is the natural ~ be it nature itself, natural talent or nature as it manifests itself between people. So, here’s my top ten (out of hundreds) in no particular order:

#1. Tennis player Roger Federer in full flow.

#2. Former Waterford County Hurler, John Mullane whose natural talent and passion was a thrill to behold.

# 3. Irish athlete, Sonia O’Sullivan, as she sprinted to victory on the world stage.

#4. The dimpled smile of Irish poet, Brendan Kennelly when he introduced his poetry at a reading I attended in Trinity College, Dublin when I was a Junior Freshman.

#5. The sheer talent and handsomeness of  golfer, Seve Ballesteros, who I was fortunate to see playing at the Irish Open in Mount Juliet, Co. Kilkenny.

#6. Irish boxer, Katie Taylor, as she danced to Olympic Gold.

#7. The sea kissing the shore here in my beloved Co. Waterford.

# 8. The brilliance of Michael Flatley and Jean Butler as they performed in Riverdance.

#9. The great Liam Clancy with his natural talent as singer, story-teller and musician.

# 10. A deep, enriching hug with someone who truly cares.

I’d dearly love to know what your list would be?