In Chinatown

I'm sorry ma'am. I'm not in here intent on buying
Anything. I'm here to try to get away, to have
Your opaque, sing-song tongue, characters on
Store-front signs, and unfamiliar cuts of meat,
And crates of produce carry me beyond the reach
My own kind, the round-eyed devils seemingly
Intent on either laying claim, or waste, or both,
To everything. Could Mongol hordes have been
So bad? Our sullen ships sail every sea. Our
Robot birds roam everywhere, dispensing death
To helpless natives blithely as you'd slap a fly,
As our storm troopers paw the ground. Please,
Let me feel I've broken free of my disgusting
Countrymen, if only for an hour or two. I'll buy
Some ginger root or squid, if that would
Please you, ma'am.



Poetry by Lawrence Beck The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 107 times
Written on 2019-06-04 at 15:46

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