in abendland our eyes only reflect
the windows of real estate agencies
couples roam there; small dogs shit
wherever they like; everyone has a
slightly bulging belly in abendland
& guitar music is de rigeur; words
like de rigeur are never used; rivers
flow & wood are pictures hung up in
galleries frequented on sundays &
feastdays only; post offices never
close; old audio cassettes remain
relatively unavailable sought after
only by newcomers; phone calls are
monitored & can only be made from
inside hastily-assembled booths; &
there are no television channels –
only movies with in-built & hard to
avoid advertisements; girls wear
stripes & old boots that make their
ankles look skinny; boys maintain a
gruff persona only enhanced by their
permanent thirty six hour growths;
love is an absence, or closing time;
garbage piles up but nobody seems
concerned in abendland; beer comes
in bottles that the homeless can
collect & then exchange for pennies
or one more beer; poetry has not
yet been invented nor cricket which
would be absurd; simply wait in line
for your university qualification;
break your baguettes in half so that
they fit more easily inside plastic
bags; buy slippers that muffle the
sounds your feet make as they pace
the confines of your apartements;
but never sleep or smoke or stare –
here in abendland staring is only
for real estate agents & couples
looking through windows & the poor
little turkish boys in our dreams
