In Key West, at the southernmost point
we tossed coins into waters
ninety miles from Cuba.
With closed eyes, silence kept your wish.
The weight of a quarter, its affects on the sea-
I wondered.

At Casa Marina we drank wine,
you rehearsed I Could Fall In Love
with lips red, more inviting than Selena.
In lovely increments, time moved us
on a stale bus to Miami
where Don Francisco made the rules.

Though the prize was not yours that day,
passion was a claim;
how beautiful, the magic in your eyes.
We sat and laughed for the rest of the show,
you slept all the way back home-

I thought of Cuban ties.

******
My Grandfather whom I never met was Cuban. 
During my travelling days I escorted a princess 
to Don Francisco's studio in Miami where Sabado 
Gigante is filmed. Cuban Ties refers 
to a part of my ancestry.