Beyond - Legends One Dance (L/M ? a love poem of sorts)

Thanks for clicking!

Title: One Dance
Author: LianaMara
Timeframe: post-RotJ
Characters: Mara Jade, Luke Skywalker
Genre: poem, romance, drama
Keywords: L/M
Summary: One step brings Mara from a solo to a duet.

AN: Written after I?d watched a ballet movie (Company! Marvelous, beautiful film ). Not quite sure whether this is canon, or whether it?s just the result of many read-throughs of Drive You Mild. For oba, because I am late with my DYM edits, and for Gabri encore, because she is lovely and I said so.

Cover Art

---

[b]One Dance [/b]







You dance
alone
each move carefully
choreographed and controlled ?
motions deliberate,
quietly restrained as
each twirl, each flutter
of uplifted hands
conveys a sense
of inconspicuous
beauty in
the shadows.

A solitary orbit,
this dance in
the dark ?
you pirouette smoothly,
rotating and whirling
around empty space,
a performance for
an audience
unseen.

But he approaches,
hand outstretched,
an invitation to
join another dance ?
offering a transformation
from your solo
circling, to steps
made in tandem,
harmony achieved between
movements, and rhythms,
and thoughts, and dreams.

Spinning in uncertainty,
torn between your
hopes and fears ?
communion of body
and spirit, or
this isolated dance?
completeness or comfort?
unknown possibilities or
personal simplicity?

Your orbit
wobbles, emotions breaking
down methodical plans,
cold feet melting
away as you reach
out, grabbing his hand,
and he pulls
you into an embrace,
a waltz of acceptance ?
two forms fading,
and gliding as one
in the sweeping
three-step of
this complexly
paired dance.

Now you find
balance between
staged movements and
quick improvisation as
you move through the
steps he started,
but it evolves into
a new dance - taking
his soft, precise motions
and your icy perfection,
and swiftly attaining
symmetry
between two extremes
in a duet you?ve
longed to begin.

Sliding, and falling
into the flow of
the dance as
the light grows, the
walls in your mind
collapsing as the
webs of your thoughts
intertwine with his own,
till every molecule
swirls united in
the music and
measure of your
love.



[FIN]

 

Lovely, Lei! Fits them perfectly!

 

I was tempted to leave this post at that, but I'm too much of a talker. Blame my mom.

and he pulls
you into an embrace,
a waltz of acceptance ?

How beautiful!

but it evolves into
a new dance - taking
his soft, precise motions
and your icy perfection,
and swiftly attaining
symmetry
between two extremes
in a duet you?ve
longed to begin.

I'm glad that it's not just them still dancing their bits together--they've created something entirely new. Perfect comparison.

united in
the music and
measure of your
love.

Endings are my favorite part--a good one is so important to me. (I can hate an entire movie but love the end, and I'd be perfectly willing to watch the rest of it ten more times! ) So a thousand roses to you for making this end so insanely awesome. x 1000

Lovely poem, LianaMara.

 

Lei,, that was lovely. Very expressive, very beautiful. I like how you got the rhythm of the words, which is a music of its own. Wonderful!

~Carr

 

Nicely done. Especially fitting with today's post of DYM.

 

Very beautiful.

 

Beautiful. That's all I have to say. Beautiful.
Mirax

 

*bounces happily* Another Mara poem! Li, I totally heart you. And this poem is honestly more beautiful than I think I can say. I don't know how you do it.

You dance
alone
each move carefully
choreographed and controlled ?
motions deliberate,

This is so very descriptive of Mara, but I just love the wording. 'Controlled' is a word that I think we're pretty used to associating with Mara, but 'deliberate' is a little bit different, and 'choreographed' is really beautiful. I also like how it parallels Mara's history as a dancer.

quietly restrained as
each twirl, each flutter
of uplifted hands
conveys a sense
of inconspicuous
beauty in
the shadows.

I really, really love the phrase 'inconspicuous beauty in the shadows' - and again, it's so descriptive of Mara in general!

harmony achieved between
movements, and rhythms,
and thoughts, and dreams.

More beauty.

but it evolves into
a new dance - taking
his soft, precise motions
and your icy perfection,
and swiftly attaining
symmetry
between two extremes
in a duet you?ve
longed to begin.

This perfectly sums up what I think of the beginning of Luke and Mara's romantic relationship, and the final stanza is just as eloquent in describing the development of that love. Seriously, Li, the whole poem is just unbelievably, beautifully, and accurately descriptive. I think you're a born poet, and I'm quite admiring of your skill.

 

That was great, I love the way you formatted it! The pauses and breaks, and the new lines, they all felt like they were in the same place.

 

Sorry for the reply delay. My life is currently incredibly stressed - the play I'm in opens Wednesday night, and I've had looong rehearsals for the past week.

Oi, and there's a correction to my Note at the beginning of the poem - it was inspired by The Company. Absolutely beautiful film, despite the fact that I consistently call it the wrong name.


Emmi- Thanksies! It was harder for me to get Luke in, and keep him Luke-ish despite the slightly surrealistic feel of the piece. I'm happy you think it fits.

Leia- Wow, I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

(more in-depthness to come . . . when I have time)

Carr- Merci beaucoup, Carr. I found that I usually tell stories more than anything else in poems, so I just tried to capture a moment with this one and describe every little bit of it as completely as I could without sounding dumb.

I like how you got the rhythm of the words, which is a music of its own.

This was another poem I wrote in my Bio course, muttering words outloud as I scribbled them down. I tried to get the sound to be reminiscent of the actual dancing itself - a lofty task, and I don't think I exactly succeeded, but at least everything sounds pretty.

Jedi-2B- Thanks.

Especially fitting with today's post of DYM.

*glances around furtively* Since oba's finished, I can talk now! Aye, after reading that DYM post, I decided to try to make some tie-ins to canon L/Mness. Since Mara had a teeny bit of dancing background, I always like things that explore that side of her personality.

StarFighter5- Thank you.

Mirax_Corran- I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Gabri- Yay! Gabri replies are so long and fun!

(more in-depthness to come, aussi . . . I have to finish a term paper, then go to bed. Arghness!)

AvenKiel- Thank you!

I love the way you formatted it! The pauses and breaks, and the new lines, they all felt like they were in the same place.

*wipes brow* I struggled a lot with the formatting, and how the piece would flow. The lines are much shorter than my normal poems, but I thought that would create more of a continuous flowing feeling, and create more contrast when Luke enters and breaks her solitairy dance.

---

I have another Mara poem I'm working on currently - "Retrospect," about fighting and the emotions Mara experiences during that. It's . . . colourful, so far. :p

 

*tosses thread to the top*

Letting you know that this lovely poem has been featured in the Review Challenge, Li darling. Hope life is a little less stressed for you, and not only because I want to see that other Mara poem of yours.

 

I can't believe I missed this, Li. PM me next time you post a poem as I don't get online as often as I used to.

I absolutely love this. The extended metaphor is great - isn't it amazing where the ideas pop up from sometimes.

You dance
alone
Perfect structure.

each move carefully
choreographed and controlled ?
I love the use of alliteration here emphasising Mara's studied self-control and the deliberate way she goes about things - which you then pick up on in the next line:
motions deliberate

Then the image of beauty in the shadows links with the image of the dark in:
A solitary orbit,
this dance in
the dark ?

I like that because it ties in with the dark side training she has had, as well as the fact she operated in the shadows as the Emperor's Hand. And of course she IS now operating
around empty space - both the physical space left by Palpatine, and also the fact that she is at a bit of a loose end with him gone.

The word choice is excellent. This really is a terrific poem.

Hope your play goes well - break a leg.

 

Beautiful poem, LianaMara! I love the way that you've captured Luke and Mara perfectly in so few words. The flow of it was wonderful -- from Mara's initial solitude to the togetherness in the last stanza. The use of second person was very distinctive as well and worked beautifully. Excellent job!