DANCE MANIA

massive crowds dance
in medieval twist and shout
minus the Beatles

instead they hear
the music of dark hysteria
Black Plague rhythms

which shod their
feet with insanity's carefree wings
St. Vitus laughs

hair whips wildly
women chase visions of angels
men shout heavenward

as their poisoned,
heavy minds are decanted from
melancholy to lunacy

when finally drained
by their dancing convulsions, they
drop like timber

frail human puppets
tasting the edge of death
before their time

were amber waves
of rotten grain the cause,
bearing fungi LSD?

or were they
feverish desperate dancers rehearsing for
the Danse Macabre?


By Nicole Nicholson of Raven's Wing Poetry

You may find details about how to purchase her first chapbook by clicking here.

Thank you, Nicole, for taking part in our challenge.