Not just the guidance

Voiced by lissom leader of the dance

Not just the music

Powerful intoxicant for sure

But not just that

Not just endorphins

Rising as the body sways, shakes, sweats

As hips rotate, feet slide and arms reach for the sky

Not just the massed participants

No doubt sheer numbers do contribute

To group sensations, pheromones wild blending in mid-air

Eye contact, too, and sometimes murmured words, gasps, cries

From other salsa students, moving, moved

All play a role, no doubt

But deeper down there's just one thing

One power glowing out each Saturday

That breathes life, that compels —

Wordless language of the leader's face

So purely joyous! sometimes saucy

As befits a spicy salsa dip

Sudden reverent! then wild, or sweet

Ever changing, swift responding

To music raining on her from above—

Yet also, wondrously and blessedly

Always in beauty, sweet/safe, uplifting

Simply, strongly sane

***

above painting: The Muse Terpsichore, from Nine Muses (1782 ) by Johann Heinrich Tischbein