January 14, 2006

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                                         Coffee With Ifti


     


    We had coffee this morning, Ifti and Lily, relaxed and feeling, he said this, that we had been friends for years.  He lives only a few blocks south so this may happen again, as there seems to be no gap or lull in  the conversation, no need to fish around trying to figure out what to say, both of us coming at things from the viewpoint of two cultures, rich, that was, for me, and taking no time to feel around and decide whether or not to go deep, just doing it.   


    I had a wonderful time, remembering much more Urdu than I thought I would (I use it in taxis all the time, with drivers sometimes refusing to take money to honor my efforts, but that's a rather specific context and doesn't stretch me).  This made translating concepts back and forth mostly unnecessary, eased the flow of ideas, at least as I perceived things...

     

    He's declared me a soul mate, and promises a mushaira...   I felt an immediate kinship with him.

     

    You want to know, yes I know you do.  Did I ask him about my own work?  Intrepid, I am, and I did.  "Deep, raw emotion, honest, true - I would not even answer you if I thought your work pretentious or inept - and it reminds me of my own origins, where I used to write from and where I need to return....."   Grace, that was a moment's grace. 

     

    I find him adorable and deep, and am truly delighted at the idea of having him, however tangentially, in my life. 

     

     

    pearlbamboo

     

     

    copyright  e. p. hodges

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