Roundly So

They
Who praise what is common abroad in
Strange lands and
Loathe what detestable details exist
In humanity
Universally
But are schooled only in recognizing the
Details in their homeland
And thus let the strangeness of
Foreignness stun them
As much as acknowledging the
Unappreciated difficulty of
Life At Home
Denies (Lets them deny)
The meanness abroad and the
Loveliness of details in the state of
Their beginnings and becomings -

They are the Useless Persons
Who laud five-dollar cheap-plates
Because they cannot cook -
And simple transit because
Their embarcations are routine -
And cheap taxis because
They do not suffer the consequences
Of congestion
A city of millions paralyzed
By cheap taxis
Its skies sullied by those same
Taxis on the cheap
They do not
In their praise
Appreciate the full cost of
What they love because their
Credit is not assessed the fee

They do not know the debts of
Their adopted in-laws nor
Discuss important issues with
Those natives (yes they say natives)
And it is funny
Hilarious and
Tragic beyond assessment

(Here I - only I - do assess
 their credit a fee which
 shall remain an
 outstanding debt)

They too toss cigarettes streetside
Leave half-empty cans in the gutters
Become incontinent in those
Cheap and easy taxis and trains
And come to slumber through
Their waking days
In their adopted nativism
(Yes they say nativism)
They adopt the traits most
Lamentable of
Any people or place and write off
(The debt Outstanding!)
Their lapse with
Praise of
Culture.

And often
Almost always
When time or money or children finally
Demand of them
An accounting long ignored and borne
As a burden still
(Reality they say of it to give it weight)
They depart
Not having been party to the
Reality they left at Home.

Asian women age more gracefully
African skin better retains its oils
Korean girls are prettier
Koreans are naturally ugly
We need plastic surgery

Such things
The statements I have collected
No gross rule in or among any
Being rather expressions of discombobulation
The statements of the Homeless

Go ahead
Say it - I already know
It
I am
A mean fuck
Cruel bastard hypocrite
Finger pointer
Boxing your already deaf
Ears
(May they bleed!)
You'll miss nothing
Anyway.




February 2012 Palau Perhentian Kecil, Malaysia