Come closer
The rain has begun
Take off your shoes
The earth should know your feet

Tonight the clouds have covered
every little watching star
The torches bend beneath the rain
The river has become the dark

One by one we form the circle,
ankles sinking in the mud
No one speaks above a whisper
No one needs to
They already know

Heel to earth
Palm to palm
Turn when the drum tells you
Heel to earth
Palm to palm
Do not count the turning

Dance until the rain bleeds
Dance until the red runs down
Dance until the earth beneath us
forgets which feet are ours

Round and round, and round again
Let the forest move our bodies
Dance until the rain bleeds
Do not stop when you grow tired

Someone paints my cheeks with clay
Someone ties leaves around my wrists
Someone places seeds beneath my tongue
and tells me not to swallow

The oldest woman strikes the drum
Three times
Then five
Then something I cannot count
The circle starts to breathe together

In
Out
In
Out

And then we begin

Heel to earth
Palm to palm
Turn when the drum tells you
Blood runs warm
Rain runs cold
Soon you will not know the difference

Dance until the rain bleeds
Dance until the red runs down
Dance until the earth beneath us
forgets which feet are ours

Round and round, and round again
Let the forest move our bodies
Dance until the rain bleeds
Do not stop when you grow tired

Turn
Mud below
Rain above
Breath within
God around
Turn

A man falls laughing to his knees
Two sisters lift him by the arms
A child is singing without words
The old ones answer from the dark

No one tells us what it means
Meaning is a little cage
Tonight we give the words away
Tonight the body learns to pray

The body knows
The body knows
The body knows
what the mouth forgets

My hair is heavy with the rain
My dress is dark against my skin
Mud has climbed above my knees
I cannot feel my little toes

Still I turn
Still I turn
Still the drums are underneath me
Or inside me
I cannot tell

That's good

Heel to earth
Palm to palm
Turn when the drum tells you
Lose the step
Lose your name
Let another rhythm find you

Dance until the rain bleeds
Dance until the red runs down
Dance until the earth beneath us
forgets which feet are ours

Round and round, and round again
Let the forest move our bodies
Dance until the rain bleeds
Do not stop
Do not stop
Do not stop

Rain above me
Open
Mud below me
Open
Breath within me
Open
Night around me
Open
Root beneath me
Open
Hands beside me
Open
Something watching
Open
Something waiting
Open

I don't remember
when my feet stopped hurting
I don't remember
when the circle disappeared
There are no people around me now

Only movement
Only rain
Only a thousand bodies
with one breath

Are these my hands?
It doesn't matter

The rain touches every forehead
The mud holds every heel
The drum enters every chest
The dark enters every eye

No one is leading
No one is following
No one is standing alone
Round and round
Round and round
Until there is no circle
Because there is no outside

Dance until the rain bleeds
Dance until the sky comes down
Dance until the roots beneath us
rise and dance inside our bones

Round and round, and round again
Let the oldest rhythm take us
Dance until the rain bleeds
Dance until the rain—
Dance until the rain—
Dance until—

Turn!
Blood is rain!
Rain is blood!
Mud is flesh!
Flesh is earth!
Turn!

Nothing outside!
Nothing alone!
Nothing outside!
Nothing alone!

Oh...
It heard us
Don't move yet
Let it finish
looking at us
Turn...