next to an impersonal
cineplex
there's a coffee shop
complete with patio seating
out of place in
suburban sprawl
before the movie
i step inside, where
familiar and foreign
are juxtaposed
products i've seen before
alongside european drinks
and candy wrappers
my monolingual eyes
can't decipher
the shopkeeper
friendly, but not overbearing
though he
mixes up his prepositions
still communicates so that
we all understand
in the shop, i begin to
recognize
that his familiar and foreign
are opposite mine
most of us, in our ancestry
left our familiar to arrive
in foreign places
some came unwillingly
some came maliciously
most of us,
however we arrived
simply wanted better for ourselves
the coffee is adequate
the ambiance tolerable
the hope, though,
is life-giving
trying to pay attention to what's going on in the world around me
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