Have you ever “fucked” an American? Or as a woman, been “poked” by one? Out comes the racist in me, you may well be thinking. Think as you please, but the fact of the matter is: there are cultural differences in how we engage in and perceive sex. And I have been quite candidly reminded […]
moreShe is a brunette. She has a short fringe and bobbed hair. Her cheekbones rise high above her nose. The cheeks themselves are dented inwards, the way one would look when sucking one’s cheeks in to look sexier. But she has all that, naturally. She has the dark, deep set eyes. It’s a pity her […]
more“I spoke with Bhutanya a lot back then,” said Karmiet.Bhutanya and Anne. Two girls who blocked the stairways at school kissing. “I never knew you were friends?”I said. “What Bhutanya did back then was brave. Her parents were really strict, Muslim.” How come Karmiet knew these things about Bhutanya and I didn’t? And how come […]
moreThe problem with depression is nobody likes it. It ranks high on the scale of most unattractive traits. The depressed person hates it too. And dislikes herself through the eyes of the world. But she has forgotten which came first. “How are you?”“Fine,” she says. Because she once tried saying, “maybe not so good.” It […]
moreShe has strong features: high cheekbones, powerful jaw. She is tall and has an athletic build. She sits in front of the piece she is working on. It is too big for an easel so she has pinned it to the wall, next to another unfinished piece. Her back is turned to the door, where […]
moreWhat, I wondered, makes this pianist so good? I closed my eyes and listened to the music, without feeling particularly sad or touched or happy. In fact, nothing of the sort. Still, the music that left her fingers had me engaged. I was entirely absorbed while listening.At one stage a voice in my mind whispered, […]
moreA 5-year old girl crosses the street. She wears a school uniform: a black tunic and purple vest. In the country I live, nobody wears school uniforms. Only kids that go to a private, British school.She does not speak our language. But we speak hers. The children her age don’t though. Should I pity her? […]
moreA big window separates me from a street I used to walk through, every morning. And no longer do. It rains on the other side. Shades of grey. A fat woman exits that street. She wears black. Black leggings that leave only a short piece of skin between her calf and her sneakers uncovered. Black […]
more“The beast is moving,” said a friend. Somehow, I remembered it as “the beast is unleashed.” It moves, it is unleashed. That beast.Shakespeare once wrote that jealousy is a green-eyed monster. If jealousy is a monster, then ego is a beast. Once unleashed, it will roam around and destroy everything it sees for fear of […]
moreMy dear friend, you do not know Autumn? You have not seen leaves fall from the trees, float on water, in the sky, fly high, only to die?Have you never felt the fear of winter run down your spine, the deception of time, the window to a world in decline. A photo that catches you […]
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