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| Jeanne Ellin |
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Jeanne Ellin comes from an Anglo-Indian background. She is a poet, counsellor, reminiscence worker and storyteller. Her first poetry collection, Who Asked the Caterpillar is published by Peepal Tree Press. She lives now in Bristol.
Body Of Music
Written in response to the Bollywood Brass Band concert,
St. George’s Hall 24/05/09
Funnelling into the body of a British saint the dragon’s
seed children of every continent, island and peninsula
make a soft universal bustle of arrival and settlement.
We become the eager five year old and the anticipation
of wistful elder hoping for musical memory made solid.
The love lit hoping to share another joy. Singles taking
their pleasure in company. Waiting for the soft familiar
or sharp new. Willing ears that beget sound. Finding
our way to share music, swimmers in the same womb.
We become the many-bodied dancers of the aisles.
Hips shrug off stiff individuality to become ours.
Shoulders lift into turns that flow down into wrists,
Fingers flutter, moths rising to the glowing music.
Our variously shod feet smooth-shuffling, stamping.
Our body moves arms flow into back’s undulation
Our body liquefies in the shared white pillared cave.
We become lungs riding wind-breath sounds.
We become heart and pulse beats on Tabla /Dhol.
We become players, brass and wood sounded.
We become eyes with black and white movement.
We become colours filling and refilling the screen.
We become the film, the song and the swaying.
We become cobra, controlling sax, answering drum.
We become, finally the hands that meet the music’s end.
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