PHILOSOPHY OF THE TRAMPS

A PLAY

BY BINA SHARIF

copyright:binasharif

PLACE: TAKES PLACE IN THE BASEMENT OF A CHURCH DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN

TIME: PRESENT

CHARACTERS: MISS,  A VAGABOND, THE TRAMP/HOMLESS

IRVING:  VAGABOND/ TRAMP/ HOMELESS

( VARIOUS MEN AND WOMEN WHO THINK THEY ARE NTELLECTUAL PHILOSOPHER, ARTIST, PRIEST, THERAPIST BUT ARE ALSO VAGABONDS AND MEMBERS OF ALCOHOL ANONYMOUS WHO HAVE BEEN DRINKING AGAIN HIDING THEIR DRINKS IN TEA CUPS.)

SET: THE STAGE IS DIVIDED IN TWO SEPARATE AREAS. ONE FOR MISSY AND IRVING,

THE OBVIOUS VAGABONDS AND THE OTHER SIDE FOR THE UN-OBVIOUS,

CLEAN SHAVEN VAGABONDS WITH BRIEF CASES POSING AS ,"INTELLECTUALS"

LIGHTING: MISSY AND IRVING'S AREA SHOULD BE LIT IN AMBER,VIOLET, RED, BLUE AND YELLOW DREAMY LIGHTS.

THE INTELLECTUALS ARE SITTING AROUND A BIG TABLE COVERED WITH NICE WHITE TABLE CLOTH AND FLOWERS AND TEA CUPS.

THERE IS A BIG CROSS HANGING FROM THE CENTER WALL.

PROPS: A BIG TABLE. (STAGE LEFT)

SIX CHAIRS

FLOWERS

TEA CUPS

A SOFA WITH A CRUMPLED COVER, BLUISH PURPLE. (STAGE RIGHT)

A LITTLE TORN RUG IN-FRONT OF THE SOFA

A LIT CANDLE ON A LITTLE SIDE TABLE.

ACT ONE

SCENE ONE

Missy is sitting on the sofa, Irving is pacing back and forth trying to find a bathroom.

IRVING: I am going to kill myself today.

MISSY: (Doesn't seem to hear him and is filing her nails)

IRVING: I am going to kill myself today

MISSY: How?

IRVING: I am going to hang myself

MISSY: Do you have a rope?

IRVING: I am looking for the rope

MISSY: I thought you were looking for the bathroom

IRVING: The rope is in the bath room

MISSY: What is the rope doing in the bathroom?

IRVING: Waiting for me to hang myself

MISSY: How did the rope get there?

IRVING: I put it there

MISSY: Where did you get the rope from?

IRVING: From outside

MISSY: From outside?

IRVING: Yes, from outside...

MISSY: You went outside?

IRVING: Yes I went outside

MISSY: When?

IRVING: When you were sleeping

MISSY: But I wasn't sleeping...

IRVING; You were...

MISSY: I wasn't....

IRVING: You were and I went out while you were and got the rope from outside and hid it

in the bathroom to use it later.

MISSY: I wasn't sleeping and you never went outside and you never got the rope and you

didn't hide it in the bathroom....

IRVING: I did all that while you were asleep

MISSY: I wasn't asleep. I am never asleep. I don't sleep. I am an insomniac. I wander

around at night, all night, looking for the bath room and I never find a bathroom

because there is no bathroom here and since there is no bathroom here there can't

be any rope in there because you don't have a rope which you got from outside

because you never went outside and you didn't hide a rope inside the bathroom

because you don't have a rope to hide inside a bathroom which does not exist.

Nothing exist. Even we don't exist. We don't. Go ask them (Point to the other side

of stage) They don't see us. Because we don't exist. We imagine that we exist

but we don't,  just like the rope and the bath room. Nothing exist. So you can't get

rid of something which doesn't exist. Since you don't exist, you can't get rid of your

self. So you are stuck. You can't hang an Imaginary person with an imaginary rope

in an imaginary bathroom. Its not a play where you can imagine whatever you want

and act it out and the audience will believe you. Its real life in which you and me don't

exist. So calm down. Come, sit, relax, have some tea.......

(Irving paces back and forth....missy gets up, lifts some weights,, sits again.)

Lights up on the table stage left and we see the Clean shaven intellectuals, a

philosopher, a priest, a therapist sitting and drinking tea from the tea cups .)

MISSY: Relax. You are not hanged yet. Come, join me. Come over and have some tea.

IRVING: (comes towards her....still standing, looks here and there) Where is the tea?

MISSY: Where ever you want it to be....

IRVING: What do you mean?

MISSY: Listen, Irving, You don't have much choice. Either drink your tea from your

imaginary tea cup like in a play or go over to the other side and take one of their

real tea cup filled with real tea and enjoy your life and soon you will forget about

killing yourself. I am sure their tea is nice and strong and hot. Go get some. Its

easier than hanging yourself with the rope that you don't have.

(Looks at the others at the table) Look how clean they look. Look at their

pin striped shirts and ties and combed hair with perfumed gel in it...look how

calmly they are sitting and sipping tea and not talking...Not talking at all.

They must be civilized. Do you know the word, "CIVILIZED?" Some one told

me once that,"CIVILIZED" people don't talk much. They just sit quietly and sip....

they just sip whatever they are sipping. They sip quietly because they are "Civilized"

I talk too much. I must not be ,"VERY CIVILIZED." Every one tells me that I talk

too much. But why does it bother me or any one else? I talk...So what? I am not disturbing any one,

Am I? I am sure I am not disturbing any one. There is no one here. Not on our side

of the room any way and those others (points at the others) those others, they are

too busy, too busy and too calm to notice us....If they notice us...Their tea time

will be ruined. Especially if they notice us. Some one called me a tramp once. But

I don't think that I am a tramp. (To Irving) Do you think that I am a tramp? If I am

a tramp than you can be a tramp too....Right Irving?

I don't think that I am a tramp. Doesn't tramp means a. "PROSTITUTE?"

And I am not a prostitute, God forbid...I am not one. Because If I was one I would

be sitting in the lap of a republican Governer in a pent house and not in this cold

freezing basement of this downtrodden church. I like the word, "TRAMP" I often

use it in my intellectual pursuits ...but I really don't know its exact meaning.

Things mean different to different people you know. To me the tramp means, the

one who is good looking, sexy of course for the lady tramp. fashionable, unique,

original with her own style, knowledgeable, intellectual with the knowledge of

philosophy, science, arts, politics, without ever having a job of any kind or a home

of any sort and the one who talks a lot, (Laughs and can't stop laughing ) a lot and

laughs a lot, (laughs some more ) and makes people angry and pissed and one more

thing...She, a lady tramp must wear torn fishnets with holes here and there and some

glitter in her hair to make her forget that she is hiding herself in a church basement

with no heat and no fire place and no tea,

Irving, tell me, was that the right definition of a tramp ? For me that's a tramp.

But I could be wrong. I am told most of the time that I am wrong. Or I don't really

know what I am talking about. Maybe I don't. Because of my English. Its not like

you Irving....English is my second language or maybe its my third language or my

fourth language, I don't know. But I do know that its not my first language that's why

I don't really know the exact meaning of a tramp...but Do I care? No, I don't.

If I want to use the word, "TRAMP " I will for use it, even for me and for you.

As far as I am concerned, I am a tramp and a proud tramp and so are you. You are

also a tramp but not very Proud, I guess. Proud people don't hang themselves.

Especially when English is their first language. Irving tell me, you were born here, 

right? You were born here and thus English is your first language. So how come

with these two blessings you don't have a home of your own? How come?

( Looks at the others ) They must have a home. I am sure of that. They must have

a home and wives and children. They are so clean. They must have a shower.

That's for sure. They do have a shower. (To Irving ) Why don't you go to the other

side and use their shower and get cleaned and than sit with them and have tea ?

I think you should do that...Than you won't think of killing yourself and I won't

lose my one and only friend. Do you want to do that? Do you want to do that?

(Irving doesn't answer. He paces back and forth ) I understand. That will be too

much for you. Too much, too much quick change in life. That can give some one

so emotionally fragile like you a sudden shock. I understand. So, Do you want

me to go over there and," Test the waters." as they say ? Should I go and bring you

 some of their lukewarm tea so you could live and, and touch my nose.

IRVING:

What's so special about your nose that to just touch it I would need to postpone

my death by hanging? "Touch my nose and live." She says. Have you ever looked at your nose

in the mirror?

MISSY

I don't have a mirror, but I know that my nose is not so handsome. But you can live and touch my lips.

 Touch my lips Irving....Touch my lips. Its better than hanging yourself with the rope

which doesn't exist. We should take advantage of what exists instead of looking for non existent items to

 end your so called," unhappiness" Everything transforms with a tender human touch.

IRVING

And non existent tea turns into non existent whisky and a non existing apartment turns into a villa and a

 non existent fire place into a huge bank account in a Swiss bank and,

MISSY; (interrupts him)

That reminds me that I have to go to the bank before they close.

IRVING

You have a bank to go to?

MISSY

Yes, and I have a bank account in that bank like all civilized citizens of a civilized society and I am

 going to take all the money out of the bank so we can go on a holiday....

IRVING

You are going on a holiday?

MISSY

Yes, with you

IRVING

With me?

MISSY

Yes Irving, yes.

IRVING

And where are you going for your holiday, to the bathroom?

MISSY

yes, Irving, yes. I am going to the bathroom with you

Where ever you want, Irving, where ever you want, I will go with you.

IRVING

I am going to the bathroom.... to hang myself

MISSY

Yes, if you are determined then I will hang myself too in the bathroom.

IRVING

With the same rope?

MISSY

Yes Irving, with the same rope

IRVING

I hope the rope is big enough for both of us

MISSY

In that case instead of hanging yourself in the bathroom, just go and piss in there or don't even

bother to go there at all.

You can piss right here in front of the Lord. This is the house of

The lord and he won't mind if you piss right here to relieve yourself. 

 After all pissing is an act of nature which can't be avoided. The Lord will understand.

IRVING

I am not going to the bathroom to take a piss out of me. I am going to the bathroom to hang myself. 

 The piss will take care of itself after the hanging and since you want to do the same,

share my rope and my bathroom for your hanging,  you don't need money to do that.

You don't have to go to the bank and stand in line like a beggar for your own money.

Just hang yourself for free. You only need money to live, not to die.

MISSY

Yes you do. Death is very pricey. 

 So why would you like me to spend all my life's savings on death?

 Why not on life?

IRVING

But it was your idea to get all your money out of the bank

MISSY

Yes, but for a real holiday with you. 

 I would die with you if you don't give up on your original idea. 

 I know you are very strong and I will accompany you anywhere,

 but why don't we live a little bit before we kill ourselves? 

Lets go to the other side and join the clean people for some high tea?

IRVING

To join the clean people for high tea, you have to have a high wardrobe.

MISSY

I have enough money in the bank to buy some glamour clothes for tea and for lunch and for dinner...

What do you say Irving? What do you say?

IRVING

I don't want to hang myself in Armani suit.

MISSY

But you are not going to hang yourself after the high tea? 

 All those scones and fresh home made cream and delicious jams.

IRVING

Yes I will. yes I will.

 I always do what I say. 

 I am a man of character and men of character always keep true to their word.

MISSY

Ok Irving. Ok. 

 I will save your rags and after the tea you can change into them before

you go to the invisible bathroom to hang your self with the invisible rope.

IRVING

That's a deal. 

How come you don't see the bathroom?

You keep saying, "The invisible bathroom."

 Its amazing, no one see the bathroom and the rope except me. No one...

It's right there on the other side.

You think all thise fancy people in their Gucci suits drinking tons of tea don't need to piss?

There is a bathroom there and I am going to hang myself in that very bathroom

and you said, you will join me...

Didn't you say that Missy? (He shouts) didn't you say vthat?

You are not a lier, are you?

I can not be with a lier, you know that. Don't you Missy, don't you? 

Atramp and a lier on top that...

(She hugs him)

MISSY:

I am not a lier Irving, I am not and you know that.

I am only a tramp but I am an honest tramp.

If you do find a bathroom on the other side of this god forsaken church

and you are determoned to hang yourself...I will hang myself with you, rope or no rope...

lights fade

END OF ACT ONE

"THE ONLY WORDS FOR ME WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN IS

THAT I AM AN ARTIST."

James Baldwin

"THE LANGUAGE AT ITS BEST CONVEYS FEELINGS

AND AT ITS WORST, ATROPHY OF FEELING MANIFESTING

ITSELF IN AND TRIVIALIZING OR DENYING BEING."

James Baldwin

'ART SERVES NO ONE BUT ITSELF?"

'SALVATION WILL NEVER COME, NOR WILL SELF KNOWLEDGE.

WHATEVER ONE UNDERTAKES ONE MUST FAIL, AND ONE'S ONLY

RECOURSE IS TO FAIL AGAIN IF BETTER THE NEXT TIME."

Beckett

'LIFE IS A CATASTROPHE FROM BIRTH, ISOLATION IS A NECESSARY

ELEMENT IN THE HUMAN CONDITION AND SALVATION THOUGH PROMISED WILL NEVER COME."

Beckett

'YOU HAVE MISSED EVERYTHING

Go to central park and see the leaves changing colors.

But the leaves have already changed colors and now they have

fallen on the ground.

And not only fallen but the leaves have been cleaned from the

ground already.

You are one week too late, or maybe two weeks too late.

The leaves have fallen and removed.

You missed it like all other things which have been missed by you.

You are too late.

You have missed a lot."

BS

"I SUFFER, HENCE I AM."

Descartes

"NOT ONLY THE ANSWERS ARE UN-KNOWABLE,

BUT THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS ABOUT BIRTH

AND DEATH ARE NOT SUSCEPTIBLE TO NEAT CLARIFICATION."

Descartes

MOLLY MALONE, A NOVEL BY Beckett

TERSE ONE PERSON FICTIONS LONG MONOLOGUES

LEAPING FITFULLY FROM TOPIC TO TOPIC SHIFTING

CHRONOLOGY SPENDING GLOOMY TIME OVER UN-IMPORTANT

INCONVIENIENCES

PINTER ABOUT BECKETT

"HE IS THE MOST COURAGEOUS REMORSELESS

WRITER GOING AND THE MORE HE GRINDS MY

NOSE IN THE SHIT THE MORE I AM GRATEFUL TO HIM."

Pinter

"The further he goes,) Beckett) the more good it does me."

Pinter

"PINTER FOUND WELL APPOINTED LIVING ROOM SUFFICENTLY THREATENING?"

"BECKETT HAD LIFE ITSELF THE ENEMY?"

"PINTER FINDS POLITICAL AND SOCIAL SYSTEM HATEFUL.

"PINTERS CHARACTERS CONVERT INNOCUOUS CONVERSATIONS

INTO CONFRONTATIONS RIFE WITH DEEP LYING AND FRIGHTENING

HOSTILITY." Annonymous

'PINTER'S VIOLENCE MAY BE VERBAL BUT ITS NOT LESS

VIOLENT FOR THAT." Annonymous

'Anxious orderliness is a disease, a neurosis." ?

IS HE THE ONE?

A short sketch

by

BS

'Is he the one?"

'Who?"

'He?"

"Who?"

"Him"

"What about him?"

"What?"

"Is he the one?"

'"Who?"

"He"

"Who?"

"Him"

"What about him?"

"Is he the one?"

"Who?"

'"Him"

"What about him?"

"Is he the artist?"

"I don't know, cant recognise him"

"He has changed."

"He looks tired."

"He looks very tired."

"He has changed"

"Who?"

"The artist, he has changed. He looks sad."

"Who?"

"The artist"

    END

"HUMANS ARE THROWN INTO THE WORLD TO MAKE

THEIR OWN WAY ON THEIR OWN."

Sartre

"THE WORLD MADE FOR FUTILITY, FOR MISCOMMUNICATION

AND ENDLESS DISAPPOINTMENT." ??????

"INDIVIDUAL IS CONDEMEND TO BE FREE=

FREE, IN THAT HE MAKES HIMSELF THE AUTHOR

OF HIS OWN BEING.

CONDEMEND IN THAT.  THIS FREEDOM ENTAILS THE

WEIGHTIEST RESPONSIBILITY."

Sartre

"THE MASS CULTURE PUSHES THE INDIVIDUAL BELOW

THE LINE INTO THE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR." ????

"PUBLIC ATTENTION BECAME A PLAGUE FOR HIM." About Oscar Wilde ????

"Bosie, Lord Douglas, Oscar Wilde's lover..... 

DEMANDING

QUARRELSOME

VICIOUS

UTTERLY SELF ABSORBED

CAPRICIOUS

UN-SCRUPULOUS ABOUT CADGING MONEY

OSCAR WILDE,  PAID AND PAID, EMOTIONALLY AND FINANCIALLY.

BECAME FROM LIONIZED PLAYWRIGHT TO STIGMATIZED CRIMINAL.

LONG AND FAR FROM LOVELY SUICIDE." ?

UNMISTAKABLE STAGE TALK" About Pinter, Anonymous

PHILOSOPHIC RUMINATIONS CONTINUE......Page 3

Dr. Johnson was plagued by the,"Black dog" of

Melancholia,

Anxiety,

Loneliness,

Financial difficulties,

Self doubt.

He found his voice in the written word." ?

"Who do you think you are?

If Dr. Johnson could have all of the qualities of the,"Black dog"

who do you think you are?

You think God would spare you ?

He didn't spare Dr. Johnson of the melancholia, self doubt, anxiety, loneliness, financial difficulties,

Who do you think you are ?

You don't even have correct gramer and you want to be rid of the, "Black dog?" BS

PHILOSOPHIC RUMINATIONS CONTINUE.............Page 2

"I still belong to the bohemian class though its not a note of success."?

VIOLENCE IN Karachi

Etheinicity

Sectarianism

Insecurity

Gang war

Mafia and Politics

Parties clash of interests

WRITING STYLE OF AN IMMIGRANT

'You don't like my writing

because you have cultural anxiety about my work.

You have some issues of superiority vs inferiority issues.

You don't like my strong political opinions

You don't consider my intelligence intelligence,

you rather call it,"Conspiracy theory"

You put me in a narrow vision of yours

But its you who has that narrow vision

I can't always be an immigrant,

That's how you see me

That's what you expect me to write about

I can't talk about your country

The country which is now my country also

The country you also admits has flaws

But when I talk about those flaws,

you say,"Oh! come on...Oh! come on....

You want me to talk about the country I left behind

You want me to only talk about the flaws of the country left behind

You want me to actually double the flaws of the country I left behind

You feel safer that way.

Am I that threatening to you?

Me ?

With no power of my own

Just a pen and a paper...not even a laptop,

Just a pen and a paper...

LONELY ARTIST

Live inside of your own creative world,

like a castle of your poems and stories.

"You are what you are." Pinter

"Spooner is an optimist. So there will be other jobs." Pinter

'Do not spend a fraction of a second on any one,

Just create something yourself just for yourself"

"People are not free to see you. 

 They are making money.

You should also be not free to see people.

 Make stories, make poems, make sentences out of words.

 String words together and make a garland of colorful poems." BS

PHILOSOPHICAL RUMINATIONS

A COLLECTION OF PROSE POEMS AND DRAMATIC DIALOGUE

BY

BINA SHARIF

"The dark side of Dr. Johnson's Philosophy is said to have come from a

dread of of the,"Vacuity" of life.

He analyzes most human activity as a kind of running away from the

horrified awareness of inner Vacum, a need to fill the vacancies of attention

and lessen the tediousness of time with novelty and diversion." ?

"There is deep thoughtfulness in your prose...Keep doing what you are doing...

Keep writing and stop seeking approval from all the experts and non experts." ?

"I need nothing

I feel nothing

I desire nothing. Wole-Soyinka

"The Rambler,

The Adventurer,

The Idler,

Be all three of them." BS

"Sharp swing between enthusiasm

and disappointment." ?

INTERESTS

Drama

Politics

Poetry

Painting

Manners

Psychology

Strong opinions...

Two of these things are already of no interest

Politics

Strong Opinions

Personal strong Opinions stays...BS

"Above all else, he valued what he called,"Gusto"

"Energy of will"

"Red bloodedness"...Hazlitt

'Stress the feeling of art and life in your writing,

Importance of feelling is the most Important."...................BS

"In the past I wanted to confront friends and foe

with their ignorance and prejudices.

My feelings never seemed settled, but no more...

People and their Ignorance and Prejudices lost meaning,

and I lost interest in all of them 

and my feeling for such a 

"Fake" 'Freedom and Democracy."

BS

"A writer should have dialogue with the reader

 and conversational rapport.

Prose should be pulsing, energetic, alive." ?

'MY IRRITABLENESS."

The rambler

PROUD

Be proud indeed,

even if your victories seem small and of

no consequence to the aggressor who is actually

jealous of you...

and doesn't want you to be victorious

even in a tiny way.

But be proud of your accomplishments,

even if they don't seem accomplishments at all to any one.

MUSALMAN

Now a days, no Musalman come to the aid of

another Musalman.

PLOTS

People who plot against you

deep down are cowards and are fearful of

your strengths...........

Plots, plots, plots, always plots.

You should be so proud

you have never plotted against any one

See there are so many reasons to be proud

But you are just bogged down by petty stuff

Such petty stuff

And you are so worried

So, so worried

So afraid...

Afraid of what?

So helpless, 

so frightened

Of Petty stuff...

What's the matter with you?

Don't be so inclined to

 let yourself be so mollified....

What's the matter with you?

Whose daughter are you?

Don't forget your ancestors

and their honest  and pure 

ways of dealing with life.

ACTION MUST BE TAKEN

You can't just be procrastinating

You have to take an action.

 right there and than at the momet of

Procrastination

And shut every one up 

The one's who disturb your balance

whoever they are...

shut them up.

Instead of having sleepless 

Nights over their petty insults

Impetuous energy is required?

Instill fresh courage and confidence?

Re-organize in masterly fashion?

ON THE ROAD

On the road,

in  the search of truth

In the quest of truth

there is incredible loneliness.

FAITH

You suffer from incredible 

terror sometimes

because you lack faith.

THE DEAD MAN ON THE ROAD SIDE

Left the dead man alone on the road side?

How your mind is poisoned with impure

Thoughts of selfishness, uncaring, deceitful

lacking any kind of empathy...

You let the dead man alone on the road side?

FLEE ?

"Gave way and began to flee"?

Don't give way

Don't flee

No matter what happens...

A LOW LIFE

A person who is a low life

Will eventually reveal it without even trying

And it won't even take such time as the, 

Enormously weighty word, "Eventually"

The low life is in the details

which a sophisticated person

 Sitting across the low life

By some misfortunate choice 

of judgement never follows.

LIONESS

Live like a lioness

Dash like a lioness

Dash right into the center of the plot.

Tear it apart

Can't retreat

Can't

You are a lioness

A born lioness

Live like one

Live like a lioness

Tear everything apart with

 Your thunder and your teeth.

YOU ON TO JESUS

You on to Jesus

I on to Mohammad...

ILLNESS

Mental illness and fear...

Mental illness or fear is a snake

Around

The neck

Mental illness or

The shadow of fear is a snake

Many snakes shadow is

Just a shadow

Nothing clear

Nothing defined.

DEMAND

Don't demand useless efforts

From yourself and your

loved ones.

Don't demand exertion from

your companions

Don't demand too much from

Any one

Don't demand anything from

Anyone.

Don't demand

have reverence.

IDIOTS

Stop

Stop

Stop

Stop thinking of the idiots

Wake up

You are under the eyes of the enemy

Be swift

Be measured

Prove that you are in a fine state of health

The eye of the enemy looking on

Don't think of the idiots all day

You are under the eye of the enemy

Think of the enemy

Be strong

Be honest

Be lawful

Be clean

Don;t be afraid

THAT'S THE PROBLEM

FEAR...

THAT'S THE PROBLEM

FEAR OF UNSEEN THINGS

FEAR OF FEARFUL IMAGINATION

FEAR OF FEAR ITSELF.

You are safe

Don't panic

You are safe

The enemy has left

The enemy has gone home...

Looking so pathetic still ?

Fearful of what?

Shame on you

Shame on you

Shame on you

Don't look defeated

Because you are not, "Defeated"

Mental well being surpassing

Even the bodily health.

Its all in the head

All in your head.

Cure your imagination.

Don't make your imagination your enemy.

Write a sell out script with your imagination

That's the way of the modern world

But you are not modern

That's the problem

Isn't it?

There is no enemy

There is no fear

There is no terror.

Oh! yes, there is...

There is Islamic terror...

"Islamist's have taken over."

British parlimentarian said the other day.

PRETTY YOUNG CHATTER

SARAH: I can accept that.

Like everyone else play your fucking drums.

MIMI: Come on. "System of the down."

I like that

The drummer is not feeling your body

NAOMI: He is too fast to play rock

And not fast enough to play anything else.

MARY: HA, HA, HA, HA. He has to practice that.

BARBRA: Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha...

MABEL: Its like, its like, its like ha,ha,ha,ha.

LIZZI: Its like bullshit, yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh....

MARGO: What time you have to go some where?

SOPHIA: We should burst them up.

KARISSA: Yeh, call the zone, find out what's going on?

BETH: Oh! you guys... Is it ok?

ALISA: Why is it not ok?

PINKY: Ha, ha, ha, ha. I have a bad fucking habit

Of asking,"Can I come along?"

ROSEMARY: Of course you can. Why do you ask?

MOIRA: Ha, ha, ha, ha. I have this bad habbit.

CHRISTIN: She gives us plenty of money but I don't like her,

or her work.

LOUISA: Did you pay?

MARY: He paid...

 LOUISA: Oh! I thought you paid.

MELLISA: He didn't pay. Schmuck.

CATILIN: Are you coming? You might hate it.

ELIZBETH: Schmuck

REBBECA: I have got to go to the bathroom.

MONICA: She is wearing studs like the guy in the poster.

SUZANE: He is not country, the guy on the poster.

He is rock. He is like my dad.

SUSAN: Your dad is a rock star?

MELINDA: Wants to be.

ALINA: Ha, ha, ha, ha. I have to go to the bathroom.

BOOBBOO: That bitch is in there for so long. What's she

doing inside?

FRANCINE: Masturbating. Its got to be.

FRANCHESCA: What? Masturbation? Its never pretty in

Public bathrooms.

CARA: Thats where it's prettiest.

CARMEN: Ha, ha, ha, ha. Really, surely she is fucked up.

BRENDA: I am glad I am not rich. She is unhappy.

CLAIRE: Do I want to be unhappy?

MITTCHELL: Making money is very easy. Go corporate, go business.

SUZI: I would never do either. What we are doing is hustling.

MARY BETH: Working for a living is not hustling.

CARRY: Its not but we are working for money.

JANE: Thats not hustle. We are not running around trying to sell

something which is not healthy for them.

JANET: That's the real hustle. 

 Hustle within a hustle. Business hustle,

Prostitution....Called, " ESCORT." 

 Corporate hustle called, "PRETTY THINGS

chattering away, chattering away to the diamond store.

Called, "COMPANIONS

"ESCORTS/COMPANIONS.

CHATTERING AWAY YOUNG PRETTY THINGS, IT'S GOING TO BE THE

END OF PRETTY YOUNG CHATTER SOON, VERY SOON.

THE END.

LOVE MAKING

A

PLAY

BY

BINA SHARIF

CHARACTERS:

PAUL: 

     A HANDSOME WHITE MALE: 30-35

BEATRICE: 

   A GOOD LOOKING WHITE FEMALE: 25-30

PLACE:

AN ELEGANT LIVING ROOM, BEAUTIFULLY FURNISHED WITH A BEAUTIFUL MARBLE FIRE PLACE

IN AN ELEGANT COUNTRY HOME SURROUNDED BY SNOW CLAD TREES.

TIME:

END OF JANUARY.

PAUL: We took this house just for this huge living room. Great place though, (pause)

In the winter just this room...So vast...You couldn't warm this room.

One time we got twenty inches of snow and they, (pause) other lovers couldn't

even enter the place. The snow was up-to their butt. (laughs) It was funny. (laugh louder) It was hysterical. Than the snow froze and became all ice. Ice and ice and ice.

Me ? A city guy in the country. A city bumpkin. We couldn't even get the car out.

We couldn't even get the car out. So we lit a fire and made love and made love and

made love.

We made so much love that we,"EXHAUSTED LOVE." and got out of the,"LOVE

MAKING HABBIT."

BEATRICE: You divorced?

PAUL: No, we were never married. We were together with free,"SEX." with range of

wide and numerous lovers kind of a deal. We were never married. We still stayed

together but we never,"MADE LOVE TO EACH OTHER AGAIN." No, we never

made love with each other...Never.

We blamed the snow and ice outside, we blamed our huge cold house, except this

room with fire place going where we exhausted love and love making.

BEATRICE: But love making can never be exhausted.

PAUL: Yes, you are correct. Don't get me wrong. When I say,"We never made love again"

I mean, we never made love to each other but of course we didn't give up love

making. I mean how can one do that? We made love always and always in this

vast room but with other lovers right in-front of each other.

That was the deal of our romantic life. We were attractive people. Highly

attractive, young, wealthy, upper-class, blue blood, civilized American people.

We were not going to cut each other's heads off for infidelity. We are free, liberal,

educated, individualistic citizens and you know how long it took us to get to this

kind of freedom? All those half naked people running around on the mountain

tops and civil war and all that slaughter.....It took us Centuries to get this kind of

freedom and we are not going to give it up now.

BEATRICE: Of course not and no one is suggesting that we should.

PAUL: (Interrupts her) You are wrong on that sweetheart....wrong. There are lots of

people and nations who are angry at us.

BEATRICE: (Interrupts him) Angry?

PAUL: Yes, angry. Furious actually. So furious about our freedom. Our total incredible

American freedom that they want us to change completely. Follow some stupid

ancient rules and become completely, "DRY." and, "NON-FUNCTIONAL"

They don't want us to have the freedom of,"LOVE MAKING AT ALL"

BEATRICE: As long as we have technology of ,"CONDOM" We can make love a million times

to a million people if we want.

PAUL: Exactly. Its our bodies, our fluids. If we want to exchange our body fluids whose

God dammed business it is to prevent us?

BEATRICE: No one can dare.

PAUL: They dare, baby, they dare. But we are,"LOVE MAKERS" We can't be intimidated.

I mean what's wrong with that? Our living room, our fire place, our own lovers.

BEATRICE: They shouldn't have a problem with that.

PAUL: But they do.

BEATRICE: Why?

PAUL: They want to make love too.

BEATRICE: So they should.

PAUL: How? They neither have an elegantly vast room like this, nor a fire place, nor

plenty of handsome virile lovers.

BEATRICE: That's their problem.

PAUL: Exactly. But they blame us.

BEATRICE: Why?

PAUL: Because we have it and they don't.

BEATRICE: Then they should also have what we have.

PAUL: But they can't

BEATRICE: Why not?

PAUL: They don't have the capability like we do. They don't have our looks. Our

physique. Our wardrobe.

BEATRICE: Who needs a wardrobe when all one wants is to be naked and have love making.

PAUL: I know. But you know what I mean. Before they get to that, "NAKED PART."

They need a wardrobe, a sexy wardrobe to attract lovers. They need the house

in the country, this huge carpeted room and that glorious marble fire place and

snow outside.

BEATRICE: (Interrupts him with a longing) Its so romantic to have all that.

PAUL: Yes exactly. The problem is that they are not,"ROMANTIC.". Not romantic at all.

If they were, they would have figured it all out from the very beginning.

BEATRICE: Right.

PAUL: See, we figured it out. How could they not? I am quite perplexed about that.

BEATRICE: My father helped me figure it out. He also had a country home.

PAUL: Exactly. You said it. Some one have to help you figure it all out especially if you

are such a moron like all of them.

BEATRICE: Thank God we were neither morons nor were we all alone by ourselves shivering

in the cold without fire places.

PAUL: Yes. That kept us warm. And when one is warm one wants to take one's clothes off

and play.

BEATRICE: Thank God we can ,"PLAY."

PAUL: What else is there in life but play and have fun, a lots of fun, lots and lots of,

"FUN."

BEATRICE: OH! OH! I am getting itchy. Where are the rest of our lovers? I mean, we have

stopped making love with each other...I am cool with that. But where are our

lovers?

PAUL: YEH...where are they? Its taking awfully long time for them to arrive.

BEATRICE: Maybe they are stuck in the snow?

PAUL: Gee...I didn't think about that. Thats what it is...its twenty eight inches of snow out there. I wonder how long will it be before they arrive?

BEATRICE: I am far too horny for that...

PAUL: Well! There shouldn't be such hard and strict rules in life especially when,"LOVE"

is concerned.

BEATRICE: But we don't love each other. We only need to,"FUCK." Right?

PAUL: You mean, "LOVE MAKING?"

BEATRICE: Of course I mean that. What else would I mean? We are free. Liberated. Ex

lovers. We can say the word,"FUCK." English language is the best language in

world. The English language has so many different meanings of just a simple word

such as,"FUCK" which actually means tender loving.

PAUL: I know. I still like the word,"LOVE MAKING." Its more aristocratic and don't

forget where we come from?

BEATRICE: Yes, you are right. In my excitement of impatience I forget.

PAUL: Never forget where you come from. Never. Especially when you come from

aristocracy.

BEATRICE: Of course. Of course. I am such a fuck sometimes.

PAUL: Don't worry baby...Don't worry. (Pause) (Very sexily and seductively he comes to

her)

Are you ready baby? Are you ready my pussy?

BEATRICE: (Lustily) I am ready darling. I am ready my sweet. I am ready my sugar. I am

ready my many chocolate layered cake. I am ready my hot melting fudge candy.

I am ready...I am so ready.

(They both do a striptease for each other, classical music plays. They are stark naked,

they leap at each others like ferocious tigers. Lights fade to black. Music keeps playing

during the black out)

CURTAIN

NO CHECK

I represent myself

I have no boss

I have no servant

I have no diamond

I have no car

I have no farm

I have no factory

I have no country

I have no citizenship

They took away everything

from me when I spoke my mind

Now I still speak my mind

Now I only speak my mind

Its up-to you to listen or not to listen

Doesn't matter

Why should it matter?

I lost representation which I never had anyway....

Now I represent myself

Which I always did....

I represented myself always

Always alone, Alone by myself....

I represented myself

I still do.....

Always alone...

Always alone

And representing myself...

Why?

I can never speak my mind if I don't represent myself

I am the only one

Who came from such a far away place

A far away land to speak my mind...

If I don't, who will?

None of the others from my far away land are here...

So I have to speak on their behalf

And the only way I can do it?

Is to represent myself.

Well...Where is the check?

A check?

Yes, a check for your speaking engagements ?

Well! How can I get a check when I do speak my mind?

SELF AND ITS REQUIREMENTS

Avoid all self defeating tendencies

even if they are totally small and insignificant...

Because eventually they will  become huge and un-surmountable.

HALLOWEEN PLAY CONTINUES........

ISABELLA: Don't fucking bore me with your bullshit. I can kill all of you.

 I have a bucket full of blood which looks like stage blood, but it's not.

. Its real blood. The real death,

visited me earlier this morning in my nightmare and told me that the," Play you

took part in for no money on halloween night will bore you to death. So be ready to kill them all. Here is their real blood already in this bucket for you. They will think its fake stage blood and they will laugh at you as if you are not for real but once this blood is spilled, they all will be dead. Dead...Dead...Dead...Dead.

Their death has to come to them, halloween or no halloween.

Tell them TO LET YOU SING BECAUSE YOU ARE A SINGER AND ITS PART OF

YOUR CONTRACT TO SING....YOU ARE A SINER RIGHT? "

"NOW YOU CAN LIE TO THE PLAYRIGHT BUT NOT TO ME, I AM DEATH

I DON'T TOLERATE SUCH NONSENSE. NOW TELL ME, ARE YOU A REAL

SINGER OR A FAKE SINGER? DID YOU LIE TO GET A PART IN THIS DEADLY

PLAY? AND IF YOU ARE A REAL SINGER...SING THAN...SING LOUD AND

CLEAR WITH HARMONY. THAT'S THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN PROVE THAT

YOU ARE A REAL SINGER AND NOT A FAKE SINGER LIKE ALL OTHER

ACTRESSESS WHO CAN NEVER CARRY A NOTE BUT THEY SAY THEY ARE

SINGERS. THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN PROVE THAT YOU ARE A REAL SINGERIS

BY SINGING AND ONLY WAY A PLAYWRIGHT CAN PROVE THAT HE IS A

PLAYWRIGHT IS BY WRITING A GOD DAMNED LOUSY, SHITTY, BORING,

MEDIOCRE PLAY.

 BY WRITING ONE."

And than I woke up from my nightmare and yes I remember death told me one

more thing. The death said," AND THE ONLY WAY THE DEATH CAN PROVE

ITSELF IS BY KILLING ALL OF YOU INCLUDING ME IF YOU DON'T ALLOW

ME TO SING."

So do you want to fucking delay your deaths on such a scary night or not?

And if you want to live LET ME SING...

HAHAHA: SING THAN...SING....Why are you fucking begging for permission to sing if you

are a singer? GO AHEAD AND SING. I AM A SPIRIT. I AM YOUR SPIRIT.

I GIVE YOU THE PERMISSION TO SING...SING HONEY AND KEEP SINGING

DON'T LET THAT LIVING DEVIL STOP YOU OR ANY DEAD DEVIL STOP YOU.

SING AND KEEP SINGING...SING ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT AND ON ALL

NIGHTS...NEVER STOP SINGING...YOU ARE A SINGER...

(Addresses the playwright)

Where is the playwright? (Shouts) Playwright? Playwright?

Where is the playwright? Not here? That's a surprise...A playwright is not

present at his own play's premier...hings have changed...artists have become

lazy...And tired. I think the playwright is resting at home...Sleeping.

But doesn't matter if the playwright is here or not, sleeping or awake...He must

keep writing, keep writing if you dare call yourself a playwright than keep

writing plays...You hear? Keep writing plays. Don't let the devil stop you

and there are real devils out there...Don't let them stop you..,Don't even let

death stop you...Fake death or real death...Keep writing...All your plays will

BE PUBLISHED AFTER YOUR REAL DEATH BUT TILL THEN KEEP WRITING.

THIS DEVIL WITH THE SCARY MASK IS TRYING TO INTIMIDATE YOU....

DEFY THE DEVIL. DEFY ALL DEVILS...ASK THEM TO WRITE ONE

SENTENCE...AND THEY WILL PERSPIRE TILL THEY EVAPORATE...

DEFY MONEY, DEFY SUCCESS, DEFY DEVILS AND KEEP WRITING AND

SINGING AND DANCING TILL THE DEATH COMES...AND THAN YOU DANCE

THE DANCE OF DEATH...I AM FROM THE INFERIOR RACE ACCORDING TO

THE DEVIL BUT I AM GIVING YOU A SUPERIOR ADVICE BECAUSE I AM A

SPIRIT FROM THE EAST AND THE WEST AND I TELL YOU KEEP SINGING

KEEP CREATING TILL THE DEATH COMES AND IT WILL COME...

I PROMISE YOU THAT IT WILL COME...TILL THAN, SING ...

ALWAYS PUT A SONG IN YOUR PLAY...THE SONG SCARES THE DEVIL..SEE

HOW QUIET THE DEVIL IS ALREADY...SING AND PLAY...EVEN THE

DEATH WILL WAIT TILL THE SONG IS OVER...MAKE YOUR SONG A VERY

MELODIOUS SONG...SING...THE DEATH IS WAITING...

ISABELLA START TO SING A BEAUTIFUL SONG.

LIGHTS FADE

END OF PLAY

HALLOWEEN PLAY

ARON: (Aron, a devilish, arrogant entity who thinks he owns the planet)

ISABELLE: (Represents middle class sophistication, beauty and secure charm)

MAHAMAHAMAHA: (The other woman from some un-recognized planet)

ARON: I want to kill all of you today, so lets begin...let's kill each other today.

ISABELLA: No, not today, its halloween day

ARON: Its perfect day for you to die and to join death. Death is all around.

ISABELLA: Death is around to be scared of, not to embrace

ARON: Why not? One day you have to embrace it

ISABELLA: But not today...Today we want to shun all deadly things.

HAHAHA: Than why every one is dressed as death?

ISABELLA: To scare death away.

HAHAHA: Why would real death be scared of an artificial fake costume which looks like

death but in-fact its not death at all ?

ISABELLA: That's the beauty of modernity. Costume of death is more scary than the real

death because the technology is so advanced that the real death is even scared

of death look alike costume.

ARON: Death is death sweetheart and no fake death is ever so powerful as real death.

HAHAHA: You seem obsessed with death, that's not the attitude of a very modern man of the West.

Are you from the East?

ARON: (Very offended) Do I look like I am from the East?

HAHAHA: I can't tell you are hiding behind a mask.

ISABELLA: All modernity hides behind masks. Masks were made for fake modernity by modernity.

ARON: We are all modern people. Extremely modern and we have a demand on us and a

message from our destiny to kill all who look like misfits.

HAHAHA: But you said earlier, "Let us kill each other today." Do you consider yourself

a misfit also?

ARON: Not a misfit at all...Not at all...not as misfit as you. When I said, let's kill each other.

I meant, "YOU." I meant," lets kill you."

HAHAHA: Why kill me? I myself am modern. I would like to kill you. Halloween day or no

halloween day, I want to kill you.

ARON: You can't. You are an inferior race. You are a misfit. You are Asian. You are from the East.

 "East is East and the West is West and never the domain shall meet." Kipling said that.

 Or he said something like that. I know Kipling said that...I remember

Kipling said something like that. I remember it was Kipling who said something like

that. Do you know Kipling? You are an Asian.

HAHAHA: I don't need to know Kippling. He is dead. He was an Imperialist and no costume

no halloween ball, no mask saved him from death. And how the fuck do you know

that I am Asian? I am also wearing a mask though you can't see it....

ARON: Thats the beauty and the cleverness of the West and the stupidity of the East...Even

on halloween the Asians choose an Asian mask.

ISABELLA: But she is not wearing a mask. She is the only one who doesn't have a mask on

halloween day.

ARON: She has a mask on. She is wearing a mask. She is Asian. She doesn't have to buy a

mask. Her face is a permanent mask. Her face is a map of Asia. Its an Ancient mask

but its not a scary mask. She can't scare death away because she doesn't have a scary

mask. Its a see through mask. We can see through it and see through her. That's the

brilliance of modernity. Modernity has a mask on and its a brilliant mask. Modernity

has a fabulous mask on...Where we can watch everything and everyone without

ever taking our masks off and these idiots from the East can never tell who we are

and what we are watching and what we are planning behind our innovative superb

masks.

ISABELLA: Hey guys...you are becoming too political...its halloween and you can't, you must

not get into politics on halloween day. Death can be the only topic of this night

and certainly not politics...Death and only death can be talked about and enjoyed.

Politics? please! Who wrote this politics laden play on this funky, funny,

deadly night?

ARON: Politics is death and I don't care who wrote this play. Its the night where my deadly

mask is so strong and scary that all other with and without masks will die except me.

Death is here tonight for them...for those insects, those worms, those passionless

backward, pathetic, compromising, timid enslaved fools who think they are brave and

can scare death away with their, "NAKED, HONEST MASK FREE FACES" ? In my

World there is no, "HONESTY AND INNOCENCE." "DEATH AND VIOLENT DEATH

OF THE OTHER" NOT MY DEATH...UST THE DEATH OF THE OTHER.

YOU HEAR ME?

ISABELLA: You sound like the devil.

ARON: And devil is the only one who can not be killed.

ISABELLA: But don't you worry Mr. Devil...In the modern World of today, there is only one

objective and that's"KILLING" which is also your objective and one day they are

going to figure it out how to get rid of the DEVIL himself...even Satan will be

killed eventually.

HAHAHA: Yes, the IMAM will come and the MEHDI will come and the JESUS, the MESSIHA

will come and get rid of you...You the SATAN of all SATANS...you the racist, the

despot, you the PATRIARCHAL ASSHOLE, you the TYRANNY, You the LORD

OF LORDS, you the ultimate IMPERIALIST, you will be killed by the one you call

a,"MISFIT"

ARON: (Furious) I will get rid of you today. Tonight..And that will be the end of you and

your race. Your whole generation will be killed tonight. Do you have any kids?

If you do, I will slaughter them too and if you don't have any kids I will slaughter

your neighbors and if you don't have any neighbors thats even better, I won't have

to shed so much extra blood...I have a heart but my heart won't spare you tonight.

HAHAHA: Go ahead... Throw your daggers at me. Shed some blood right now...show me

your Satanic power...I am a spirit. You can't kill a spirit and a Spirit doesn't have

any blood in it. I will fly away. Away from your devilish presence and deeds. I

will fly away instantly. That's why I never needed a mask like you. Because you

are a coward hiding behind a mask. afraid of death, shivering with the fear of death.

Its you who is afraid of death, terrified of death. Thats the reason you hide behind

the devil's mask every halloween night thinking you can scare the real death away

but real death is laughing at you. Real death is a spirit, an angelic spirit which

creates peace and rest for all human beings. Its you who don't want peace. You

have a mental and physical anguish. You want to live forever...you are not real

Even A devil can kill all but not the spirit and you are not even a devil, you are a

fake devil...You can't kill the spirit...SPIRIT IS LIFE AND THAT'S WHAT SINGS

DO YOU SING?

DEVILS NEVER SING...I know that.

ISABELLA: I CAN SING. I CAN SING. LET ME SING. I took this part in this play because I

thought there was SINGING in it. So far there hasn't been any, "SINGING."

in it at all. No laughter, no fun, no singing, no humor...Some one told me that this

playwright is hillarious, thats why I took the part WITHOUT GETTING PAID.

I didn't know this play written for halloween night was about the fucking East

and West and its never ending bullshit politics. Oh! Fuck.

Is this playwright from the EAST?

I hope not. All playwrights from the EAST no matter what the occasion is always

talking about the East and West and West and East.

I am so bored with it. So bored. Its halloween night. I am so bored that I can kill

both of them. I don;t care about the fucking East or the fucking West. I AM

BORED AND WE KILL WHEN WE ARE BORED.

MALADY CONTINUES

Then Karim woke up from never sleeping

His eyes were blood shot without ever drinking

He would like to taste drink

Hard core drink

Whisky

Maybe?

He would like to try everything which makes one forget

Does one ever forget anything?

But that's what he was told....

One forgets all after being high

And whisky must make you high

Otherwise why all the people on this planet talk about it?

Why spend so much money to have something which doesn't have

great effect on you and change your disposition from low to something

Sublime....................

Sublime!

What a sublime word!

Its all words

Isn't it?

Words, words, words

Happy

Sad

Depressed

Grieving

Tragic

Thrilled

Sorrow

Joy

Elation

Mood

Hungry

Love

Hungry for love

That's what it was

Hunger

Enormous hunger

Karim was hungry

Karim was hungry for love

He hasn't eaten love for days

He hasn't eaten love for months

He hasn't eaten love for years

Karim has never eaten love

What does it taste like?

What does love taste like?

Karim wants to taste love

And than eat it

He wants to eat love three times a day

Regularly

He wants to eat regularly like the foreigners do

Like all the tall, good looking, muscular white men with blue eyes

And blond hair

Who came to fight him and men like him, dark, with dark hair, not so muscular

and not so tall

But dark

Very dark

Almost scary

Karim heard they eat three meals

So they can stay healthy

And fight not so muscular, dark, short men oddly dressed

Karim heard that the strength in fighting the enemy was to eat three meals

Karim wants to eat love three times

His three meals to fight his desire to love his enemy

But no.....

Karim doesn't want to fight his desire to love his enemy

To make love with his tall blond, blue eyed enemy

Karim wants the three meals of love regularly to feed his desire to hold the tall

blond, blue eyed snipper holding enemy in his arms and put his dark lips on his

pale lips and lock himself in the embrace of love

Love and love only

He wants to love

Not fight

Love and love only

Embrace of love

The embrace of eternity of love

In the mountains of Pashnunstan

The name of his birth place

The place blond people were fighting for

The place which was horrid and

Hayunting

Haunting since centuries

People always came here to fight

Karim's grand father used to tell him all the stories of

Chenghes Khan

And

Alexander the great

They all came here to fight

Fight for what?

These ominous mountains?

These ravines?

The almond orchards?

The opium?

The minerals in the mountains?

What for?

All this killing

All this blood pouring from the desolate mountains

All the crying and the wailing of all the remining human beings

Crying over the loss of their loved ones

Why?

Why fight?

Karim never understood all the damage and sorrow

Useless

Waste

Death

Karim was only seeking for love and how to make love

The eternal truth

The eternal beauty of life

Love

And only love

Nothing but love

And love with this man who came to kill him

Karim wants to tell the man who came to kill him from so far away

That he wants to love him

But how can he do that?

How can he tell him that?

The tall white man will shoot him a thousand times if Karim ever came near him

So the truth will die with the shooting

The bullets when they pierce the body, they pierce the truth to smithreens

After Karim is dead with the thousand bullets

The truth of his love for the tall,blue eyed man will never be revealed

And if its revealed while Karim is alive

That would be another ferocious killing by his own dark, short, non muscular men

Revenge

They will take revenge for the dishonor to their tribe

How could Karim, a muslim man fighting for his honor and his country tell

The enemy, the kafir with blue eyes and blond hair with a bomb in his hand in Karim's

Own land that he would like to kiss him and hold him and make love with him for the

Rest of his days...............

No one on this planet can imagine this scenario....

This tragic malady

Karim's dangeous, exotic, feverish malady

Karim wants to make love with the enemy

Karim's enemy is Karim's lover

Karim wants to eat his lover with a ferocious appetite and cherish the taste like a ripe plum

From his own gardens

Karim Wants to commit the eternal sin and wants to be punished by love

Love and only love

Love was the nightmare and love was the dream and love was the malady

Karim's malady continues

Karim's malady will continue till his lovers bullets will pierce his virgin body.

SYBIL'S RULES OF FRIENDSHIP

1: Have no friends at all

2: Never waste your precious time for a small bonus of money

3: Sybil doesn't need money from any one. If Mary who always claims that its God who

gives her money and she doesn't need a human being for it than Sybil must have the same god

who will provide for her too.

4: Now Sybil will have her precious time, her energy, her knowledge and her own money.

Sybil's god is as generous as Mary's. He will provide for Sybil like he provides for Mary.

5: Work is Sybil's friend. Work, work, work, work. Sybil should take her work as seriously as

Mary does. Mary does not spare one minute of her time when she is working. Sybil also

want people to adjust to her timetable and to her own convenience.

6: Sybil should learn all the good things from Mary. Mary's work, Mary's convenience comes

first. Everything else and everyone else comes second. And Like Mary Sybil should not

have any time for any one else but herself and only she must count.

7: Sybil will only do things which involves her immediate needs and interests such as

Writing

Reading

Walking

Drawing

Gym

Typing

Publishing

Performing

Seeing theater

Doing theater

Holidays

Art

Arranging and rearranging the apt

Contacts for work

Contacts for social life

8: No arguments with friends

9: No arguments with any one

10: Quietly walk away

11: Be very private

12: Do not tell a soul about your plans

13: Do not discuss politics with friends

14: Do not discuss politics with any one

15: Dat trips

Hamptons

Brighton beach

Brooklyn

Hudson,N.Y.

16: Hide yourself, disappear

17: Don't talk much with your friends

18: Don't talk to any one

19: Don't talk at all to any one

20: Put a cap on your mouth at all times.

21: Have no friends period

22: Travel

Spain

Beirut

Jordan

Syria

Egypt

Morocco

China

23: To hell with people.

ILLUMINATION OF A MALADY CONTINUES

HOLIDAY

RUQIA:

"I hope you are having a good holiday."

ZUBEIDA:

"I had a nervous reaction to what you were saying last time we saw each other."

RUQIA:

"I thought you were making fun of my ethics and my political beliefs."

ZUBEIDA:

"Maybe I should have taken it more seriously."

RUQIA:

"Or maybe I shouldn't have taken it so seriously."

RUQIA:

"I snapped."

ZUBEIDA:

"I snapped too

RUQIA:

"Maybe I shouldn't have snapped, maybe I shouldn't have taken it so seriously,

maybe I shouldn't have snapped."

ZUBEIDA:

"All of us can snap sometime"

RUQIA:

"I hope you had a good holiday."

ZUBEIDA:

"I hope you had a good holiday."

ILLUMINATION OF A MALADY CONTINUES

THE END

SULEIMAN:

"Hi, it was nice to see you.

I have made a promise with myself that next time

we meetI don't want to talk about these issues.

It Aggravates me and give me a headache.

We should talk about beautiful things like you said."

SUURIA:

No response

{48 hours pass)

SULEIMAN:

Hi, I was very upset last time when I saw you.

Call me back so we can talk about it.

I do not want to have sour feelings between us.

I felt you were implying that I do not know how to be

with successful (Corrupt) people thus I am a loser.

I also do not like this disappearing act.

Call me so we can talk.

SURRIA:

No response

3 hours pass

SULEIMAN:

You are not picking up.

I am leaving tomorrow and don't want to leave with sour feeling.

As I said before I left your place very upset.

You said that,"You don't give a crap about him..."

But even that didn't bother me.

What upset me the most was when you said,"Me and my husband

don't talk about political issues."

"We have other things to talk about, other things, beautiful things."

That was too much.

That's how I read it.

"Like what I talk about is nonsense."

"Waste of time...Waste of life totally."

"And you and your husband don't waste life."

"You don't waste your precious time on such nonsense."

And that was really disturbing to me.

Its like saying, "You have no life. You talk bullshit ect ect ect."

To that very feeling I responded one more time

I tried to reach out one more time for the sake of a long friendship.

But to you it was a,"So called friendship."

My response was,"If you were not interested in talking about these issues with your husband

why do you always so eagerly talk to me about it? "

Should I take it as provocation?

Since I am very intense, emotional, astute about politics why would you talk to me

as if its such a waste of your time? Or if this talk is just nonsensical and useless to you?

Do I present myself as a political propaganda machine?

Is there a political flag over my head?

Or is it your love of useless gossip that you waste my energy with?

Call me. I don't believe in just total silence when there is some kind of bad feeling between

friends....

Just mere silence and lack of response is not my idea of a great friendship.

Its not my style.

I am trying to reach out one more time. Maybe trying too hard. But If you don't call me back

I won't disturb you again ever.............................

SUURIA:

No response

216 hours pass

The End

SUBDUE

Subdue the force of an intelligent

Outspoken mind

And shut them up

With a few dollars.....

Terrified with the future of children

Half and half

With the liberal feel

Half and half

Never a full whole

Half and half

With a stronger half

of the name they will carry.....

LOVE IS A SLAVE

Everyone want others to be their slaves in the name of love

Serve them

Say yes

Agree with them always

Cook for them

Clean for them

Give them company

Do their therapy

Entertain them

And also sleep them

Sexual pleasures I mean

These kinds of lovers can't be otherwise together.

All messed up.

Nothing written

Nothing thought

All nonsense

Accumulation of nonsense in my brain

Ned to purge

All will be well soon

Inshallah.....

BENEFITS OF BALTHAZAR

Getting up early

Walk for half hour both ways

Reading the papers,{London Guardian and the New York Times)

Superb coffee

Great service

Flowers

Music

The lighting design

The mirrors

The hustle and bustle

The excitement

The breakfast

The booths

The privacy

The feel good feeling

The sense of beauty

 Getting out of the East Village

The morning light

The flower arrangements

The feeling of being welcomed

The anticipation to get there from the real estate heaven,{The ugly East Village}

Get up early tomorrow and go to Balthazar like a good girl.

Don't break the habit now like you did for so long.

ILLUMINATIONS OF MALADY CONTINUES

Than Karin stopped sleeping.

He became a wanderer at night

He explored his life like a bad movie, 

Watching all the disturbing scenes one by one

over and over...

He simply stayed awake all night...

He wanted to sleep but he couldn't...

He became insomniac

Insomnia of love

Fever of love

Couldn't sleep without him

Whoever that,"Him" was...

He had to have him in bed with him

That smell of flesh

That warmth

That heat

That heat of love in a hot country

Where he only felt the scorching heat

But no heat of touch

No heat of smell

No heat of contact

He wanted to sleep with that ivory colored flesh

not kill it...

He will look at his gun next to his hot cot of a bed

The gun which was the only companion of his night

Of all nights

With which he was supposed to kill the love'he cherished,

knowingly,

unknowingly

who knows

All he wanted was to sleep

and not sleep alone

because he couldn't

any more...

no more sleep alone.

He wants a companion

A man companion

A man whom he also want to destroy

kill...

He wants to sleep with the one he wants to also kill...

Karim could no longer sleep at night

He was now declared,"Insomniac."

But for him

It was lack of love

And love only

Karim had a fever

A fever of want

A fever of sleep

A fever of lack of sleep

Just a fever of desire

Intense desire...

Desire and its fear kept him awake all night...

ILLUMINATIONS OF A MALADY CONTINUES

Then Karim woke up

He was sweating profusely

His head was feverish

His heart was throbbing heavily

His temples were pounding with anticipation of the same dread

which he had experienced so many times before...

The same nightmare of entrapment 

 Which he has been dreading since his adulthood...

Always appearing in the form of nightmares...

He can't leave the place he is in...

Can't get out

Can't escape

Trapped...

Always this feeling

Being late for some thing...Something important...

Can't get out

Can't get there in time...

He will fail

Fail in everything

Everything he will encounter he will fail in ...

Doesn't take much to go on...

Make an effort to go on...

Go on....

Go on where?

Where to?

To hell and back

Maybe...

Certainly...

To hell and back

Hell is the night mare

And back is after he wakes up and is 

Relived that it was only a night mare

And why this night mare is persistent?

That's been the search of Karim's life...

All his life he has been fighting this feeling of being trapped

Trapped by his circumstances

Trapped by the poverty

Trapped by his shyness to approach people who could help him

Trapped y the love of his family

Trapped by the moral obligations towards his family

Trapped by the sense of duty

Trapped by the self sacrifice 

Trapped by his desires

Trapped by his own sexuality

Trapped by his fondness for boys

The guilt

The tremendous guilt he feels if he ever

 Try to do anything good for himself

He can do a lot for others but not for himself

Trapped by the sense of generosity for others

 But the sense of stinginess for himself

Trapped by the sense of martyrdom...

When he wakes up he is relieved as usual

"It was just a nightmare."

'But what a nightmare!"

"But why?"

He has been asking this question for so long now...

He is thirty two years old

He has no lover

Neither a man nor a woman

He loves woman

But not that way...

A different way of love for women

Like sisterly love

Like motherly love

Like a love so intense towards an intensely beautiful woman friend

But towards a man?

He feels differently

His heart flutters so fast when he sees a man

 With whom he would love to exchange

kisses .....

Just the idea, mere idea of that makes him feel 

He is going to collapse with the sense

of sin...

Sense of sin so heavy a burden like a marble slab 

On his chest crushing him with all

kinds of moral ambiguity and guilt that he feels

He is crumbling to smithereens long before he 

Will ever have a chance to even touch a man that way...

He thinks he will die a virgin...

How can he disappoint his family

His society

His ambitions

His duty to produce a heir to the family to keep their name alive

Poor or not, his family is very honorable...

How can he bring so much dishonor to the poor father

 And grand father and his mother and his sisters...

His sisters will die as old spinsters

No man will every marry them if

They find out that Karim desire men...

No, he can't do that to his poor sisters

They have to be married and have children

What is a woman if she is not married 

And is not taking care of her husband and children?

Maybe after all his sisters are married,

Then and maybe then he can love a man...

How long would that be?

Maybe he would be forty by then

Or fifty even...

Which man would love him when he is fifty years old?

With no shape and no muscles to be proud of...

He has muscles now but he is not proud...

People find him very handsome...

Handsome, dark, tall, lean, well shaped, strong....

But he loaths himself...

He can't desire like the others

And if he desires like the others, this tremendous shame

And sense of ominous danger falls upon him...

Why does he feel this way?

Why is this burden his responsibility?

What is it?

This concern for the other?

The family

The humanity?

Is this the burden of love?

Is this the burden of shame?

Is this the burden of un-fulfilled desire?

Why does he desire men?

When he is a muslim?

Isn't it forbidden in Islam to love men?

Is he a bad muslim?

Is he a muslim at all?

Is it all pretending?

Should he sitsdown with his father and grandfather and all his clan

and declare,

"Listen, I desire men and that's that."

Can he imagine what will happen at that precise moment?

Perhaps the sky will fall all over him and them 

And that would be the end of many generations...

Right there and then and the story will end 

And he will be so proud in death...

But if the sky doesn't fall and

Kill every one in an instant,

Then what will happen?

They will shoot him with their powerful guns 

And than shoot themselves 

or stab him seven times 

like the whole clan stabbed Ceaser...

After-all they are Pathans, Pushto speaking Pathans of tribal areas...

WITH THE EXTREME SENSE OF HONOR AND MANHOOD.

"Guess what, the only son of Pushtoon speaking tribe 

of Amnunstan, the real Pathans, the only clan left 

In the Hindu Kush mountains of South Asia

And that son will never have a son himself because he is gay."

'Imagine that!" "Just Imagine that!"

"No, I can not do that..."

"I can never do that..."

"I can never desire and fulfill my love for a man."

'I can never confess my desire openly....Never."

"I am a Pathan"

"I speak Pushto"

"I am the heir of a proud clan who has to produce many more proud Pushtoons."

I am the muslim soon to be the head of a fierce, Pathan clan 

fighting for their honor, their land, their women, their country."

"I AM A MAN WHO IS FORBIDDEN TO DESIRE ANOTHER MAN."

"I am a proud muslim man, a proud Pathan."

"My desire, my fever, my anguish, my passion for a man will 

Make me a weak man, 

A man who trembles at the sight of blood and war,"

"A weak man who only desire beauty

 And aesthetic of beauty,.

 Who hears violence in every cry for love,

 Who dies for a kiss on the lips of desire,

 Who cherishes the taste of love even after his death."

"No, I can't be that weak man.

 Full of beauty and devoid of violence."

"I have to fight a war...I have to kill my enemy

 Who is coming to kill me."

"I can't love, I am not ready for love,

 I want to love a man and I am not ready.

 And no one is ready for it either.

  My tribe, my family, my religion."

And that's what keeps Karim awake and anguished

 Every night and when he sleeps 

He has his constant night mares of obscure and abstract nature 

 Snakes running after him 

And daggers drawn at him by the sea urchins 

And all kinds of horrible fires engulfing him and burning him to mere ashes...

His love of man is the only thing he desires 

And desire passionately and 

That is the only desire he wants to completely destroy.