Shirley Horn

Shirley Horne
You told me first time you heard Shirley Horne you called local jazz station and asked them which album was the song from. Next day as poor as you were you went and bought her CD. You liked the music I listened to and except a few wild albums you used to listen to I liked your taste in music too. You were one of few genuine people I had come across in a long time since my days in Berkeley I was amazed by your dedication to revolutionary politics and yes your clear understanding of race and gender issues and the way you despised U.S unjust policies home and abroad.
I'm writing these lines years later, we are living separate lives with all the love we had between us. I'm in a place far away from where I imagined I'd be by Caspian Sea in a villa my dad had built a month before he passed a way. It’s a hot summer nigh almost midnight the sound of waves and Shirley Horne permeate thru my room.
Tonight is another one of those sleepless lonely times you warned me about. In less than a few hours the sound of Moazen calling believers to prayer will mix in with Shirley Horne's beautiful voice, reminding me how far apart we are from each other.