Tango Lessons
written by: Kenneth Salzmann
Step slow slow quick quick
slow
through a lifetime
of swivels and turns
and graceful cortés.
Embrace your partner
sensuously
as you wished to embrace
life itself, wrapping your arms
around a space between
the firm grasp of certainty
and the loose elegance
of letting go.
Step slow slow
quick quick
slow toward
the final tanda.
Death—the poet of love said
edging unto the dance floor—
comes in a dream
wears a miniskirt
and teaches the dying
to tango.
Kenneth Salzmann is a poet and writer who divides his time between New York’s Hudson Valley and central Mexico. He is the author of The Last Jazz Fan and Other Poems.
Latest posts by Kenneth Salzmann (see all)
- On The Day of The Dead - November 1, 2022
- Sometimes It Takes a Chisel to Find the Poem - January 16, 2022
- Another Gray Afternoon in Guernica - September 13, 2020
