My Heart Belongs To

My heart belongs to a place where my legs dangle carelessly above the waves crashing down on a cement wall, staring a distance i could possibly swim with enough will power. at times, i am convinced that it would have been easier to let the waves bring me home then the route i chose, but i'm home nonetheless. the bottle of rum i'm holding makes friends for me in a place where my words are useless. in between marriage proposals that my sister has to translate for me from the men who i've never met and will never see again, the warm night air blows my way and dries off my skin, moist from the humidity of the long, long day. my sister and i throw our heads back in laugher and the guitar rhythms pick up pace. their voices synchronize naturally into three part harmonies i still have yet to master despite my years of voice training; their hips are smooth and tempt me. a student from the university takes my hand and we dance, i'm able to follow his steps that seem as foreign to me as every word that came out of his mouth, but my feet understand and that's all the matters.