Skeletal Dancers (Poetry)

How can stone embody dance?
And yet these bones hold movement
poised for rhythm —
rigidity a phase shucked off
the second eyes might flick away...
they know the beat — the choreography —
all this is carved right through them
such animation caught in one still moment —
a stasis sharp upon the edge
of sense — music in the angled form —
the gathered energy expressed but not let go —
how their gestures all suggest
a pent up ecstasy —
the potential flow of passion
that submits for now
to the framework — the restrictions
imposed by shape — each body tense
trapped in three dimensions
while its spirit dances free.