Chien 1 Amie Chien Dr.

Paskali AP English Period 1 1 September 2012

Sestina You come upon, while taking a stroll, a path so overgrown and wild, hearing the joyful sound of laughter. You continue onwards, only to see dirt. Its everywhere, on faces, hands, and knees, as people noisily stomp and dance. Swept up in their energy, you quickly pick up the rapid beat. In all your years, youve never felt more alive. Every movement so alive, and your heart beating like its run wild. Its all you can do to keep up to the beat. All around you, youre surrounded by laughter flitting around, twirling, rebounding as they all ceaselessly dance. Dust flies, their feet pounding the hard packed dirt. The smell, and taste of the air, tinged with dirt and see the people, the emotion, that shouts alive! when you hear the rhythmic thumping of their dance and feel the fingers grasping your hand, asking you to join their wild whirling. And still the rambunctious laughter flows, adding music to the beat. Their feet move so quickly, at a pace thats hard to beat But in all the madness and all the dirt Youve found a way to follow along. Your laughter Harmonizes with theirs, and you feel intoxicatingly alive. Incredible! Such an experience, out here in the wild; All this you feel from just one dance Into the night, it never ends, this dance of theirs. So onwards you cavort to this relentless beat Who cares that your hair is wild and that your skin is caked in dirt? Not them, these people, so passionate, so alive; not you, who has partaken in their revelry and their laughter.

Chien 2 You feel a connection with these people who can sing a song with their laughter and tell a story just through a dance. Theyve made you feel alive once more, but alas it is time for the beat to slow and the dust settles down back to the dirt. An eddy of calm contentment soothes the wild. All of a sudden, you realize that this dance didnt happen in the wild; that the sound of childrens laughter and the scent of the dirt had reminded you of a time when you felt so alive and could dance to a never-ending beat.

6 words used (in order) A) Wild B) Laughter C) Dirt D) Dance E) Beat F) Alive