Immigrants

IMMIGRANTS Used to play cards Friday evening in Dublin With immigrant Soviets who had come west to work.. Guy mopping the floor in hotel café used to be A scientist in some Soviet space program. Took my breath away. One woman was the ex-head nurse of The Accident and Emergency unit In a major Kiev hospital, specializing in eye injuries - She could save your injured eye and save your life. She was a toilet cleaner in the hotel. Took my breath away A bed-maker in the hotel was an ex-mathematician From a university in Minsk. I did some card tricks. He could understand the tricks purely mathematically And could predict the exact card statistically. Took my breath away. The waitress in the café where we used to meet Had been a teacher of handicapped children in Moscow. How is this waste of talent possible In a world where the needs of many are not met ? Takes my breath away.