The very last tanda (poem)

A gift from a freind:         "Tangeros"  by Charlie Homberg

The Very Last Tanda

I promised her La Cumparsita.

I searched for her frantically
  with my eyes when I heard
  the call for "last tanda!"

I surprised myself with my panic.
I had to dance with her.
I knew it would be our last time ever.
Then she would be gone.
And who knows if she'd ever return?

When I found her, my face was relieved,
Like when a father finds a missing child.
We both shared looks of relief
That silently embarrassed us both.
I held her, melting into her embrace.
I smelled her hair one last time,
And wanted to break the silence
To ask what fragrance it was,
But I knew it was just her scent,
Not something from a dainty bottle
That I could buy to capture her essence,
And hide it in a drawer in her absence.

I could feel her heart pound,
And I wondered if she were okay.
I wasn't.  I would be over too soon.

The music pulled us even closer,
And we moved as one.
The last ever dance drew out
Each second, each step
As precious as life itself.

"This probably will be the last time,"
I told myself.
Until tomorrow, that is --
When we would dance again
As if it were our last.