Ballet d’Azur

The stage is set –

a billion years of choreography,

practised on an eternal scene

of time and azure space.

The dancers float within.

A rhythmic wave of life,

pulsing at the gentle tempo

of a rolling, hidden current.

The motion of the marine

seen only through

this living metronome.

Opaqueness is a virtue

to much of this company;

refracting light, changing rays,

creating an image of ghost-like

perfection to dance before the eyes,

into the deep blue distance.

A chorus of approval

from a darting, chasing shoal,

flashing and disguising the ballerinas,

obscuring the hunter.

But orca is upon them,

matching the orchestral majesty

of the fleeing piscine comrades.

A turn amid the panic,

a flashing, invisible gape,

a swirl of stinging tentacles

without precision;

rehearsals cannot pay,

and Nature’s final criticism

dictates the grace of the show.

Applause from the audience,

sometimes glad to be distant.

© Andrew Williams