“In tangoes and near tangoes
You are gently held
Between my right hand and heart.
Once again passengers
In the exhaustive whirl
Of lightness and rhythm- Partners in bliss.”~ Michael Boyle, TangoPoetry.net
The music has started but I’m not listening to it yet. I force it out of my mind for just these first tiny moments as I settle against his chest. I’m listening to him. Breathing him in. The smell of soap, a light cologne.
Entrega del cuerpo al otro . . .
Without thinking, I’ll hear the music only my way.
I want to hear it through him first.
Entrega total . . .
I listen to him breathe – I listen to him as he listens to the music. We take a long breath in and lifting my chest, I release my tension to the air. I can hear the music now in his chest – through his fingertips. With the next phrase, we take off. His heart moves my legs.
We pause. I can feel the pause in the music but I’m uncertain. I start to shift weight – shouldn’t I be doing something? I feel the “shhh” in his embrace, with no sound at all. Wait. . .
The palm of his right hand reassures me, pulls me closer. He smiles against my temple, and I sigh an answer against his neck. A low note of the bandeneon hums in his torso, and beneath my hand on his back. I spread my fingers over his shoulder blade trying to take in more.
I can tell we’re moving again by the air moving over my skin, but I see nothing.
One song. Two. Three. Where did the time go? We part, breathing heavily. A soft landing and a trace of salt on my lips where they rested against his cheek.
The Holy Grail of Tango is entrega… and entrega is a trinity. It has three parts: man, woman, and music. To attain it, a man and a woman must both have an informed passion for the music. They must understand and feel deeply together, and they must both be willing to put all the meat on the fire—to surrender themselves with no self-consciousness and no vanity.
~ Rick McGarry, Tango and Chaos
About the Author: Mari Johnson is a freelance writer, photographer and researcher, turned tango blogger. When she grows up she wants to be a milonguera. She lives in Central Texas with her adoring, but non-tango dancing husband, two shiba inus, and a cat that is the boss of all of them.
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{ 3 tango-induced comments… read them, love them, and add your 2 cents! }
Mari, I love it when you are the guest writer : )
Beth –
Thank you so much
((abrazos))
Your beautiful words sum up the experience of Tango completely. Thank you!