PM Vincenza Dante

ABC Poem

A Benevolent Creature Drinks Education for Growing Heart
In Justice. Kindness Leads Mercy
No Opposition Prevails
Quiet Righteousness Succeeds
Toppling Ubiquitous Violence
Whenever X-rays Yield Zen.


Shadow Woman

I was not made to be the "other"
Meant, rather, was I to be the main event
I cannot lurk in shadows, coming out in evening's darkness
To please a king
Some concubine with no recourse
But to play my role to the hilt
In exchange for small moments of illusion and certain tragedy…

My time here grows shorter, and I dare to find myself
Worthy of more
In a life which breeds passivity and resignation,
I choose to bind myself to none
Playing passion's song as I will,
Stepping forward into vastness where dreams fertilized fly…

I am not by nature casual or easily satiated,
Wanting the whole plate, not merely hords d'ouveves
I may stop for a moment to contemplate,
To inhale Beauty's perfume, or
Sift through time's kaleidoscopic parlor tricks,
But then, in the end, I am left with myself while,
Romantic rogues return to lackluster loves bound,
My heart sings its silent torch songs touching the sky
IF YOU WOULD KNOW ME
If you would know me, observe me in the deep woods
In glades, beneath branches,
Walking barefoot if you could
See me in the splendid solitude where I reside,
Cleanly, simply with the trust of a child

If you would know me, read then my verse
For in my writing, my truest voice shines out
The Muse's proddings waken me unbidden
As the world lays sleeping and dreamers dream,
My heart pours onto lonely pages, unencumbered & serene

If you would know me, love the ones called lowly,
Blessing them with Compassion's eyes
Honoring them as Holy
Close your heart to none who would seek it out
Offer the gift of Faith, where formerly was Doubt

If you would know me, visit me then in the Dance
The place between realms where I happen to chance
Belonging not to space, nor possessed by time,
No more a servant to Worldly Limitations
Nor by Life's cares confined

If you would know me, show me a troubled child,
An old woman whose back is bent, a man too proud to cry
Bring me to a place on Mother's ravaged bosom
And Pray by my side
Invoking Grace & Healing by holding our hearts wide

If you would know me, tell your secrets to the trees
Whisper your dreams unto the wind who carries off the seed
Harken closely to the messages in Nature's song,
From this dark Earth we were made
Unto Her do we Belong.


Shade Song

Reaching for the moon in the land of the sun
Coolness becomes me when the day's heat is on
Can the Trees sense my mood?
Leaves dancing with Delight
In their fine greenery
See my longing for Night

Moonchild glow in the black bluish haze
Fingertips grasping, their shadows amaze
I sense the coolness of Spring time
The dampness of dew
When embraced in the arms of a lover like you


No Argument is Stronger Than Your Kiss

No argument is stronger than your kiss
You kiss hungrily, a lion devouring its prey
Let me be then a bloodied mass torn asunder
That which feeds you
That which becomes part of you
I CARE NOT
Your kiss disarms me, strips down all my defenses
You take me deeper, and deeper still
To a cave beyond vulnerability
Drawing me out, you confront me
Soulfully, reverently…
I submit without shame, losing nothing
There is no contest here, only union
No lines drawn

No debate can match the power of your beatific smile
No amount of hardness can erase your softness
from my memory
Or your laugh echoing in the corridors of my tender heart
Or the shine from your eyes…

No argument is stronger than your kiss


About the Author

PM Vincenza Dante is an eclectic poet and vocalist whose styles include cabaret, folk and jazz. Recently, she appeared in a NYC performance of the opera, Don Giovanni, with Underworld Productions. Vincenza has done club appearances in NYC at Alonzo's, Club Ibis, Singers Forum. and Dillons. Locally she has performed with SEED, a woman's a capella group featuring music with themes of community & spirituality, with Rusty & the Riverkats, a jazz ensemble, and with singer songwriter and recording artist, Cecilia St King. Vincenza has appeared on WDST where she has performed her poetry on the air with local jazz musicians. She has also performed poetry at Rosendale Café with Gretchen Langheld, at Albert Shahinian Fine Art Gallery (Poughkeepsie), and in Kingston at the AIR gallery, Deep Listening Space & the Mezzanine Bookstore & Café. Vincenza, a NYS Licensed Creative Art Therapist, has also taught Poetry in Motion workshops combining poetry & dance in New York & Maine.

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