TANGO 

ARGENTINA

I.

At the cantina I dance the tango

with an old man.

He cups my hand high up,

puts his other hand

in the small of my back and

if I look into his eyes

leaning back a little

I can follow him light as a dream,

transported wherever his hands take me;

but if I watch my feet

I stumble in punctilio,

stepping sideways when I must step back,

clumsy as the fat lady I am.

I can’t decipher steps—oh stormy glances.

II.

Wandering cobbled streets

toward Sant’ Elmo

past murals of tango singers and dancers

smoldering at each other

youths throw ketchup

on the backs of our coats,

to mark us for robbery later.

They fail.

A woman with a baby warns us.

Bill gets beaten up against a doorway,

his wallet taken at high noon.

Though shaken, we go to lunch

at a tango bar,

eat and dance our troubles away

like real Argentines.

III.

At the tango concert

the man in the tuxedo cups

the woman in the electric-blue dress’s

hand from above.

That cupping of protection

forces her to backstep,

bend, sway, and swoon,

or die of passion.

IV.

On the street a tango trio

surrounded by a crowd,

two elderly men in felt hats

and a bandoneoneer on a stool,

his bandoneon over his knee.

The happy crowd forgets

rampaging inflation–

l,000-2,000 percent, 5,500

australs to the dollar.

Everyone sings along,

knows all the words to all the old songs.

A professor told us

“Argentina started from

so far up it has a long way to fall.”

V.

This is the hundredth anniversary

of Carlos Gardel’s birth.

He was the premier tango

singer of all time.

White heads in berets and scarves come to see

the 1930s film retrospective.

The lights go out, 

the black and white film rolls.

They applaud after every song.

The lady behind whispers

“Carlitos is singing

better than ever.”

VI.

The esteemed profesora lectures on

the twelve themes of tango poetry

1. longing for Buenos Aires
2. longing for Paris
3. the poor immigrant French girl duped
4. caudillo and guapo, two buddies drinking
5. the past
6. God stays silent
7. death a consequence of vengeance
8. the world is crazy
9. Carlos Gardel
10. longing for the barrio
11. the tango
12. social protest and politics

The sexy tango singer in a trench coat

sings theme 12. with three old men–

two guitars, a bandoneoneer on a stool

on the corner in La Boca.

People shove australs

into her hat on the ground.

She is so free and happy

singing tango

on the cobblestones,

I want to be her.

VII.

A gypsy fortuneteller tells me

if I want to

I can sing tango

free and wild

on the cobblestones,

in tango cafes,

in smoky folklorico rooms.

She also tells me

my love will come

in ten days.

I wait for my love to come.

On the tenth day I stay up late

at a tango bar with my friends,

tangoing with a waiter.

(Argentina has the

handsomest men in the world

we sit in the windows

of coffee shops on Avenida Florida,

watch them in their cashmere coats, tailored suits,

their dear, greased-down

Continental hair pulled back,

their leather jackets, their tight pants,

their loafers with thin soles.}

The waiter tells me

he wants to come to the U.S.

He wants to marry me!

is this theme 3, theme 8, or theme 11?

It is 5 a.m.

We are drunk on disappointment

and possibility.

He is not my love.

(Does this mean

I cannot be

a tango singer

either?)

FINLAND

                  I.

At the outdoor pavilion Katamu Lava

at 10 p.m., sun blazing in June midsummer

the famous tango singer Eino Grôn

gives a concert at the dance.

Single women line up on a bench along the wall,

flowered dresses, leather pumps,

purses with long thin straps

slung across their bosoms.

Single men in open throated print shirts,

polyester or cotton pants,

thin black socks, black leather shoes,

rush over to the women,

ask them to dance–

sweat and perfume,

beer and mosquitoes,

folk dancers whirl like dervishes.

II.

My Finnish student Sini writes an essay:

            “The tango is considered a very emotional dance.  However, we Finns are often thought to be people who don’t want to show their feelings easily.  Why do we still love to dance and sing tango?  What’s the secret in tango?  Why do we love it so much and think it is almost more Finnish than Argentinean?

                        “I think this is all due to our character.  We, especially our men, are usually very shy.  They don’t laugh a lot, they don’t cry, they don’t know how to express their feelings to the opposite sex.  But they can dance beautifully.  They can tango, they can make lyrics, and they can sing.

                        “The lyrics of tangos are strong and emotional.  If they are written by other Finns, we can understand the meaning because they tell about feelings we all experience.  In fact, by dancing, singing, and listening to tangos, we have found a way to show our deepest feelings.

                         “There is fire in the Argentine  tango; we have longing and yearning in ours.  We both tell about love. ”

So.  Blood tells. 

So this is why I wanted to dance the tango

all night during my month in Argentina.

II.

A red-faced man comes over,

asks me to dance.

We hop all over the floor–

a polka, not a tango.

He speaks only Finnish.

I speak English.

My Nikes don’t glide well.

His breath smells beer.

He says “I love you,”

his only English words.

I giggle,

lead him back to the bench.

Eino is singing

like a lounge singer in Fort Lauderdale,

gold chains around his neck

a Hawaiian shirt on.

Oh Sini,

the accordion is not the bandoneon.

The crowd gathers round Eino.

applause!  applause!  Applause!

.