Germany

Today it rains once more.
The sky is gray, the trees exhale with more ease.
Today my legs are sore,
But my heart is light-I can roam as I please.

I get on the bus and see those familiar faces-
The Beast driving, The Beauty bored with her life
and mischievious Johnny in the back.
They are all blunt and straightforward cases.
I wish I could be them-but I learn, I learn. There are
still some qualities that I lack.

I still cannot walk with flip-flops
without tripping over the cobblestone roads.
I buy beer, but my bones shiver when I see the cops.
I don't understand bayerisch, but neither do the others
around me-there must be secret codes.

Their indifference astonishes me,
But what's inside astonishes more,
They are compassionate-although it's hard to see;
They aren't fake or narrow-minded or complete bores.

Someone asks me-"Which one do like the most?"
I think. I think of the bus, the cobblestones, the beer-
I remember. The flat land, the smiling faces, a pork roast.
"Yes, I like this country the most. It suits me here."