 |
Make Love, Not War by Clare Ramsaran Two women One from the North of England Salifa was her name her parents good Muslims from Pakistan, she laughed at her own jokes told in round Yorkshire vowels drove a red, convertible babe-magnet The other, her lover from the South we’ll call her Sangeeta, her parents good Hindus from India with a good Hindu daughter Concentrating on work Never chasing the boys That summer London basked in the sun and we basked too We jumped in the back of Salifa’s Triumph Toledo while Sangeeta sat in the front licking ice-cream suggestively They kissed in the park after dark wore matching dresses to Gay Pride eagerly exchanged gold-coloured Sony walkmans These star-and-crescent crossed lovers dismissed the divide of respective religions risked wrath with their rainbow alliance My mother Her parents good Catholics from Ireland Walked into this tableau These two poster girls for ‘the life’ impressed and charmed her Their joy disarmed her Their smiles showed in her eyes But on learning that Salifa was Muslim and Sangeeta Hindu my mother’s forehead became furrowed and she frowned It must be difficult she murmured remembering her life at their age when she could not bring a Protestant boy to a home bloated with Blessed Virgin Mary’s crammed with crucifixes replete with rosaries A happy ending was needed for the urban fairytale of Salifa and Sangeeta Her eyes brightened on finding a commonality none could deny a hint of triumph entered her voice the answer? their gender - the same that’s all Maybe it is that simple Maybe we need our own Army of Lovers fighting religious discord laying down - not their lives for their brothers but their bodies for each other
|
