Night Burnings
Sparks of soul songs— a Flamenca poem
Bound by deep compulsions, in gritty alleyways, half-lit cantinas; her pain and ecstacy — proud feet find fevered beats
Dark grace, like a raven’s swift flight through midnight’s eye, her arms lift and spread; arcs of incantation conjure sparks of soul songs
Beneath her audience, blood and desire, smeared red; through the stamp and twist of her staccato feet, she summons stains from floor
Transformed into story; she prays through sway of thighs, collective dreams and nightmares, fired in heart’s forge, blazed from breasted bellows
Her steps burn and smoulder, flames of redemptive tales never forgetting, after the inferno; rake the sacred ashes
© Melissa Coffey August 2021
Inspired by the subversive elements of flamenco performance, and my appreciation for elements of both surrealism and magical realism in Spanish story-telling (films such as Like Water for Chocolate and Pan’s Labyrinth and the stories of Isabel Allende), I wanted to infuse the imagery in my poem about a flamenco dancer with those elements — so she is far more than she appears. She is sorceress, soul-channeler, keeper of stories, high priestess, and goddess of the dance. But she is also flesh and blood. She performs her nightly rituals to tell not just her stories, but the stories of her audience, allowing them the catalyst of shared narrative to celebrate their beauty, burn away their pain.
I looked up the Spanish phrase equivalent for my poem. When I listened to the phrase (Quemaduras Nocturnas) via Google Translation, I was delighted to hear it rhymed in Spanish — one of those beautiful moments of creative synchronicity. Heartfelt thanks to Roy Reichle for a very productive brainstorm session and the “spark” of his suggestion.
Quemaduras Nocturnas (Night Burnings) is a response to my own prompt on the flamenca poem. Below is the prompt for anyone who’d like to give this form a try:
