My love, the days are colder.
So, let me take your hand
And lead you through a snow white land.
I think, yes, winter's coming, it's colder out, but Engelbert promises me an adventure exploring the pureness of love. And he reinforces that idea with:
I see the firelight in your eyes.
Come kiss me now, before it dies.
We'll find a winter world of love,
'Cause love is warmer in December.
Yeah, it can be darn cozy in December despite the snow when love is reciprocated.
I think this because, I know how mean the days can be when it's cold, and December is usually pretty cold. And I accept that one-on-one affection is a desirable goal of our culture.
For a different experience, I tried reading a poem by Rumi, a Persian poet around 1230. It goes like this:
"NOONE" says it better:
What is the mi'raj* of the heavens?
Non-existence.
The religion and creed of the lovers is non-existence.
*mi'raj according to Islamic tradition is the ascend of Muhammad to heavens from the Al Aksa mosque in Jerusalem.
See. Nothing. I don't get it.
Next, I tried the Gulistan of Sa'di. Gulistan mean rose garden in Persian. Sa'di is Sheikh Muslih-uddin Sa'di Shirazi. The Gulistan is a series of maxims and admonitions. Each story represents a flower in Shirazi's garden. I go to the chapter called Love and Youth. I see this story:
It is said that a gentleman possessed a slave of exquisite beauty, whom he regarded with love and affection. He nevertheless said to a friend: ‘Would that this slave of mine, with all the beauty and good qualities he possesses, had not a long and uncivil tongue!’ He replied: ‘Brother, do not expect service, after professing friendship; because when relations between lover and beloved come in, the relations between master and servant are superseded’:
When a master with a fairy-faced slave
Begins to play and to laugh
What wonder if the latter coquets like the master
And the gentleman bears it like a slave?
A slave is to draw water and make bricks.
A pampered slave will strike with the fist.
The story warns against being too friendly with a slave. I agree one shouldn't be over friendly with one's employees or have sex with them, but this story doesn't move me. It's not that I don't own a slave and therefore can't relate. It's more that I reject assigning different social status to people. I reject the notion that if someone is friendly to a worker, the worker necessarily takes advantage and becomes abusive. In fact, I think it's one's professional responsibility to be cordial and respectful with one's coworkers and employees.
See. Different cultural references and experiences.
Now, The Man has been in Yemen for one week. Since he landed, we've exchanged e-mails everyday, and had a long phone chat. Aside from exchanges of affection, The Man has offered few observations of his new life. He is trying to adjust and find his place. And it has only been one week. He noted that:
the challenge is getting around because of language and distance and the sheer bizarreness of the country.
Without the language and with limited mobility, Yemeni culture must strike The Man as bizarre. He doesn't know the cultural references, religious significance and climatic reasons for how and why things are the way they are. Within this host culture, The Man is also trying to acclimatize to the work culture of UNICEF - new people, new work, new way of working.
I miss him, and I feel for him. I feel displaced, like I'm not able to do my job. Because I am not by his side helping him figure things out.
No comments:
Post a Comment