Las Metaforas Del Baile: Spill

Spill

Volcada-


my heart spills into yours—


molten gold we merge.

Las Poemas

These poems are inspired by the many wonderful and generous leaders who have invited me through the threshold of Tango-and shown me new vistas, new insights into themselves, myself and this way of life called the Tango. For all the times I’ve stepped on your toes, missed your lead, or just plain screwed up---forgive me. Thank you for your patience, playfulness and willingness to explore new ways of moving together as we wander down the intricate and amazing path of Tango for a tanda or two. You are all my teachers.

Rumi speaks of the Divine Lover behind the veil of each of our lovers.

If the Beloved is everywhere,

The lover is a veil,

But when living itself becomes the Friend,

Lovers disappear.

Rumi, translation by Coleman Barks

These haiku and poems are dedicated to my dance partners- each a veil behind which I catch a glimpse, feel the embrace, inhale the intoxicating fragrance of the Divine and Dancing Presence of the Beloved at play in the universe.
Namasté.

Close Embrace

Dancing cheek to cheek

our bodies melt and glisten,

I fall into cloud.

How I Came To Tango...

One year ago I was reading the following poem while out for a late dinner…

A Divine Invitation.

You have been invited to meet The Friend.

No one can resist a Divine Invitation.

That narrows down all our choices to just two:

We can come to God dressed for dancing

Or

Be carried on a stretcher to God’s ward.

-Hafiz (translation by Daniel Ladinsky)

As I read the words, I resolved that I would enter the New Year dancing after one of the most challenging years of my life - one that encompassed having surgery and living with the unknown of a possible cancer diagnosis for awhile ( fortunately it wasn't cancer), the painful ending of a relationship, and several family medical crises.

The poem's message was emphasized even more to me when I fell 5 minutes after reading it and fractured my knee cap. I thought I was through with stretchers, but apparently not. The fall felt like a Universal exclamation point to the poem’s message.

At the time, I certainly wasn't envisioning myself dancing the Tango in 3 inch heels while struggling with crutches and wondering whether I'd ever be able to bend my knee again and return to Bikram yoga classes.

Once gain I was reminded that life is short- so now was the time to do those things that brought me joy. I realized I didn't want to have any regrets at the end of my life over paths not taken. One thing was clear, dance has always brought me joy since I was a young child, and I knew that I definitely wanted to learn Tango before I passed from this earthly plane to the next (where I'm sure everyone is Tango dancing at the Great Milonga in the Sky).

A month after I was out of my leg brace and off crutches I was taking my first Argentine Tango lesson. (My orthopedic doctor would have thought I was crazy if she knew.)

So I guess you could say I came to Tango on a stretcher ….

Dressed for dancing now,

Victoria

Victoria Is In The House!

Well, she's at least here in our little milonga here in Confessions. It is with great pleasure I give you Victoria I'm sorry I can't reveal her real identity, but I can tell you I've danced with her before (now let me see, was that in Bs As, San Francisco or Prague?). I can also tell you she's a wonderful person, a delightful dancer, and Victoria has a poetic view of tango and life (one in the same, aren't they?). What I mean by that is she sees things most of us don't see and then expresses the deepest truths of tango that are invisible to me until her words break through the fog and reveal them to me. So, in a sense, Victoria is my tango sherpa--guiding me up the impossible ascent of the Mt. Everest that is tango. Victoria is also very humble, so I know she's not going to be happy with me for saying all these things (she'll think they're exaggerations, but they're not). Anyway, I wanted to give you this background, so you have a sense for why I never gave up hope that Godot would arrive. I know you'll connect with her words as much as I do with her when we tango. OK, I'm going to shut up now and let Victoria talk for herself, which she'll start doing in her inaugural post within a few days. Welcome, Godot.

Will She Write For Confessions?

Well, I asked my friend about writing Confessions and she's going to think about it. God, I hope she agrees to it--she'd be an awesome contributor! It turns out she's written some tango poetry and has an interest in sharing some of it, but she's a bit reluctant to put herself out there in a public tango forum like this. TBD...