On Friendship
If
a friend calls out to you late at night from beneath your window
Never
send him on his way. And if you’ve sent him away and still
Insist
on rigid rules, regain your composure after a moment
And
run to the window and shout his name: “Come, Merhav!
Come
back! I’ve got some corn cooking! Come eat something.”
And
he’ll placidly retrace his steps and gladly accept
The
key you toss down from your window,
Will
come upstairs to the first floor and will be impressed
By
the large pictures on the walls.
He’ll
sit and wait for you to slip into a clean shirt and you’ll put on
The
movie in the kid’s room and your baby daughter
Will
rush to the kitchen and come back with a red pepper for him.
He’ll
decline the warm corn and say he’s already had dinner.
In
the meantime your husband will chat with him about Tai Chi
And
pour him a glass of cold sweet pineapple juice.
You’ll
return to the living room
And
go out to the balcony and light a cigarette and sip
A
cold beer. You don’t yet realize
That
this is a sublime moment in your life.
One
of the most sublime you’ll ever know.
by Hagit Grossman
(Translated, from the Hebrew, by
Benjamin Balint)
courtesy of The New Yorker
No comments:
Post a Comment