Tango，A Metaphor for Life by Chen Zhen

Time spins within the tango,
notes paint themselves upon a towering wall.
Waists flutter like butterflies,
colors in flight—
yet not a drop is spilled,
for they lean, they cling.

From the clamor of streets they emerge,
step lightly into the hall of grace;
turning with ease,
they learn to face themselves,
to color existence with passion.

Here is recorded a journey—
a dance, a culture,
a pilgrimage from noise to mystery,
from flesh to spirit’s alchemy.

From the rough streets of South America
to the salons of Europe’s elegance;
from the exile’s yearning
to the fusion of all tongues;
from the embrace of bodies
to the unveiling of souls—
until at last, it reaches
a flowing, sacred height.

This path mirrors
the trembling landscape of human emotion.
The tango enchants
because in the dancer’s gaze,
in every posture and step,
amid the surge of music,
there lives a steadfast devotion.

The mirror of tango reflects
our desire, our sorrow,
our fire, our grace.
The mirror is small,
the dance floor smaller still—
but vast is life itself.

In that single moment
of embrace and gaze,
we behold
life itself:
sorrowful, yet ablaze—
the sacred within the dust.

Tango was born in Argentina.
Now it belongs
to every soul
that has loved,
that has lost,
that still longs to burn.

Once local—
now universal.

([愛墾研創]陳楨的歆文創札記：因為拉斯洛‧卡撒茲納霍凱（László Krasznahorkai）小說《撒旦的探戈》（Sátántangó, 1985）而想到的探戈事)

[愛墾元現代主義詩選]朗・席利曼（Ron Silliman）就地避難