When Huitaca Dances
Today,
in my chair,
I dream again
of reaching
a hall of sweat
and Latin beats.
I am tense,
a pent-up hum,
a Colombian drum:
tambora,
tambor alegre, lamador;
I am seeds of maracas
and metal of guaches.
I am Huitaca,
rebel goddess
in full command
of the Moon:
my owl wings swell
with sensory pleasure.
I am bewitched
and bewitching.
I am Shakira
at the Superbowl,
a hula-hooping,
dance-trouping,
high-kicking,
wrist-curling
hair-flicking diva.
My Hips Don't Lie.
And today, today –
in this chair
that is my hall
of sweat and Latin beats,
I take this diagnosis, this disease,
this groundswell of grave-dark fears
and I dance them all to death: dance hard,
dance fierce, until they become tumbling dust
and nothing is left
but a drumbeat.
Huitaca is a goddess of the Muisca people of Colombia. Lucy Heuschen is a British poet living in Germany. Her poetry has been recently published or is forthcoming in Reach, Sarasvati, Irisi, As Above So Below, Unlimited, FEED, Beyond Words, Poetry & Covid and Green Ink. She tweets about poetry, life change, mental health and other things here: @Rainbow_Poems.