After the Milonga, coffee and whispers

   They danced, they drank, they eyed each other and the rest, they let their bodies flow to the demands of the Milonga, they lived a short time in another sphere, mindless of the struggles and hates and answerless violence outside, in the real world. Machos hubo que parecían quiebrarse en gestos rituales, cabeza hundida en el pecho, la cabeza llena de frases hechas; las hembras perfumadas, en faldas amplias, las ancas en movimiento continúo, suave, insinuante,  espuma seca en las auxilas, los ojos hundidos en las sensaciones interiores.

    They danced wordlessly at times, speaking with their bodies, churning figure eights on the floor, activating their unspoken desires with such slight movements at the edges of their lips that you would think they were whispering love songs of past generations. And after the Milonga, coffee and whispers. Nada más.

    --Francisco.

   --Marina.

    Brisa de mar, de tiempos añejos. Brazos envueltos en paños de seda, carcajadas. Luz ambar, la madrugada, el país de ensueño. Ruido de cristales, de orgasmos cósmicos. Grita el mozo y su lengua queda pegada a la bandeja.

   Strange says Francisco. Really weird interjects Marina. The sensation is electric but short-lived. Like love. A moment, a second. A heart-beat. A movement of feet and arms, revolving eyes, an acceleration of the breath. And then silence. Existence. Renewal. Like Spring, like flowers, like making up the bed every morning. After the night's turbulent dreams.

   La mesa queda patas arriba, los vasos derramando sangre fresca, caliente. ¡El enorme espejo! Gardel. La imágen de Gardel se derrumba: sale a bailar, a cantar; un oleaje de piernas, brazos, pechos, corazones latiendo al 2 por 4, la luz se apaga. Termina la función, los bailarines, extenuados, vuelven a sus nichos. Nace otro día. El universo tiene 13,7 mil millones de años. Ahora, otro más.

   The kiss, they hug, they promise eternal love, the table becomes a bed, they dance as they approach climax, their bodies quiver and shake, their lips offer poetry, verses of unknown length. Then, as suddenly as it began, it ends. That is all.