A Brief Tango
- a brief tango -
I see from this pestering pedestal,
And what’s that I see?
Gazelles and antelopes of the Savannah
Or the deceits of a mooting brain?
I see them – a careful pick of a generation
In pairs they ambivalently search emotion
They dig heads in each other’s bosom
Like the diving crocodiles of the Nile!
They tango in the Savannah and the city
Beside the bushes and beside the chapel
As the acacias tango in the wind,
They too tango in crumbs of love;
I don’t see male or female – but they tango
In decorated and animated gestures they pry
And promise to liven an inner mongoose
Thence my lips betray the cynicism beneath.
For with every tango-ed pair must be care
Lest on others’ toes you plant your tarsals
And there a tumult invoke among lovebirds!
And doughy cheeks won’t suffice for mediation.
A sandaled pair walks in enviable elegance
It’s a political wedding generously regarded
A model for the monkeys and the gazelles
But the rings are earthen and untrue.
Who will answer me – for lovebirds go in
But only dust and vapour see I from the arena!
Purpose and life enter, penury and despair exeunt
I too want to tango, but will it be a brief tango?
MS26072016
|