What I Learned from Living Abroad
Wherever you go, locals love their place best
and assume you are visiting because your homeland is inferior
or you couldn’t find a husband there
or occasionally both. This leads to some awkward conversations
but switching from politics and sex to the topic of food
guarantees a happier exchange.
Admiring babies is non-controversial
but do not pat their round heads or squeeze their chubby toes
without permission. The same goes for dogs
though folks are less indignant
if you cannot refrain from embracing their pets.
Whenever you enter a place of worship
cover your head and shut your mouth.
Remember how few of us have encountered a deity
and respect the attempts of so many to commune with one
even in places that represent the acquisition of wealth
through the oppression of citizens or by means of imperial conquest.
Having lit a candle to honour your own persecuted ancestors
return to the topic of food or, failing that,
sit at a café table and sketch your surroundings.
People are offended when you take a photo without asking
but delighted when you draw them –
everyone wants to ascend, so when prayer fails,
art will serve.