Bolero

I could never understand
why I found the Bolero to be so arousing
until this afternoon.
I was standing on the pier
that crowns the end of South Beach
listening to the tide come in.
That is when I realized
that the Bolero is a symphony
that depicts a sexual journey.
Its rhythm is a slow mantra like the sea
music balanced on the wave’s crest.
A subliminal audio aphrodisiac.
Melody. Countermelody.
Ebb. Flow. The slow hammer
of the hip orchestrated in rhapsody.

The Bolero begins quietly.
A flute plays over the rhythm of a snare drum.
A reference to the phallus
and the heart’s response to sexual stimulation.
The melody is then passed
between different instruments
bassoons, the oboe, trombone.
An obvious allure to the importance of foreplay
and the worship of different body parts.
The accompaniment becomes gradually
thicker and louder until the whole orchestra
is playing at the very end.
Passion. Crescendo. Climax. A succession of Yesses.
The sound progresses from soft to loud
and just before the end,
there is a sudden change of key.
The sound descends from a dissonant
B-flat chord to a C-major chord.
Orgasm…and
And finally, it becomes that melody
you remember enjoying, but
can’t quite recall what its called.
You're out the door.

I stood a the pier at the end of South Beach
this afternoon and heard the tide come in.
I remembered a woman I made love to years ago,
she had long dark hair, and beautiful brown eyes.

DQ 11/10/06