3 Travel Poems

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3 Travel Poems 

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🚍 Greyhound Girl 🚍

To the girl sitting next to me on the Greyhound bus

     our hour-long journey is over

          and I never had the nerve to say,

               what are you watching?

                    on your phone?

I'll love you forever

     you were the one 

          crafted by God,

               the missing puzzle piece.

               

Go! 

     enjoy your show,
          without me.

🌴 Vietnam Vacation 🌴

50 years ago, if I was in this country, I would not be wearing flip-flops,
     but I would still be sweating.

Shooting heavy artillery,
     not selfies.

I hand money to a boy my age in a fake Versace T-shirt
     who stands behind a kitchenette attached to his motorcycle
          He hands me a white paper bag already soaked through with oil from its contents
               Inside the bag are 3 balls and 2 strips of fried dough
                    The balls are covered in sesame seeds, and have a bright-purple filling
                         The strips are drizzled in sweetened condensed milk
                              I look in his eyes when he hands me the change
                                   and think:

Did you try and shoot me dead?
     Did I see your shadow and squeeze trigger, adrenaline river?
          Did you kill my brother?
               Did I kill your wife?

I forgot how to say "thank you" in Vietnamese,
     so I just smile big and say "thank you"
          he grins and nods

The Russians standing behind me want the same thing
     and when I move out of the way, they jump in
          excited to try something new
               "Ghelo, ehhhh, vee vant same-same" pointing to my bag
                    as I turn to enter the flow of pedestrians

The boy grins and nods
      he tosses five gooey strips into the oil
          to sizzle and crisp
               The Russian man thinks:

Did you try and shoot me dead?
     Did I see your shadow and squeeze trigger, adrenaline river?
          Did you kill my brother?
               Did I kill your wife?

Money changes hands
      the Russian man says, "tank you"
          as he turns to show his friends the sweet contents of his bag
               a French couple has been watching and they step in

"uhh alo, wat iz zis?"
     The boy responds, "Donat!"
          "okaey, we taeek" -man looks at woman- "five"?
               -woman confirms-
                    "we taeek five"
                          making eye contact with the boy,
                               The French man thinks:

Shoot dead?
     Shadow squeeze trigger, adrenaline?
          Kill father?
                sister?

"Ooooo waw, sank you"
     Paper bag and contents are exchanged for money,
           the French walk away
               a group of Chinese approach.

🎨 Art Museums 🎨

Art Museums are exhausting
     I have to move fast enough to see everything
          but not so fast that I miss something
               that requires some serious contemplation
                    before you really even "see" it.

And,

I only have time for maybe 3 serious contemplations
     because each one will zap 15% of my energy
          leaving me with enough juice for maybe:
               30 walk-bys
                     10 standing considerations
                           a handful of grab-and-go thinkers
                                and 1 or 2 audible "waaaaaaw" inspiring installations

And then i'm spent
      brain drained 
             primal needs of water and food.

Walked in with shoulders back, a fresh faced world-wise man
           walked out hunched, hungry, and tired
Art museums are exhausting.