To Steinback, it was a state of being.”If one is vacilando, he is going somewhere, but does not greatly care whether or not he gets there, although he has direction.” On the streets of Rio, it is a curse. A “vacilao” is one who is always doing something wrong. But to to those who are wandering, vacilando is a very great adventure indeed.

Words combining for lovely effect.

You might find my pinky toe
scraped and swollen, severed
by the effort of finding you in bed
our mattress frame is dangerous, turned
backwards to avoid scratching the walls

“He feels refreshed by Diane’s betrayal. It’s something that he couldn’t predict, not in his years with her, not before their marriage, not after it. It’s a cloud that he could never imagine straying into their bland sky.”

Bernardo knew that they were destined to stay together when the sliding words came to him the afternoon they made love for the first time. He said, “Hold me tight, woman,” burying his face in her breasts. “I feel like I’m falling.”