Lady Lead

Photo by Romanlily

Lady Lead  

She gives herself fully to best tangueros.
I watch in awe of her animated femininity.
Her grace deserves a partner better than I.
But tonight she catches my adoring eyes.
With an upward whip of her gaze, an inviting nod,
I know that I must escort her to the dance floor.
I have no choice but to obey her lead.
Feigning my confidence, I approach with open hand.
My body and hands vibrate the frequency
  of not being sure of myself.

She embraces me and says in a whisper:
"Listen only to the music. I have watched you do this.
Hold me. Wait until you can feel my heart beat with that rhythm.
Then we will walk as one -- the music leads us both to move."
Her words will haunt me, I know, for all my dancing life.

She melts into me, and I can feel my heart slowing to hers.
And the music takes away the need to impress her
Because we both now stand in awe of the music together.
Our breathing becomes one,
Our walk follows as if from one heart.

Between songs, we shift deeper into the embrace
Tonight she has become my Lady Lead.
She brought me to the floor.
She calmed me with her embrace.
She showed me how to let the music lead us.

She led me to the life-long path --
The way to make tango with a woman.


The above poem, now significantly edited here, first appeared as one of my first tango poems in May of 2010.  The original was called, "The Older Woman."

Photo Credit:http://www.flickr.com/photos/romanlily/201646/lightbox/