Reading fridge magnets; surprised how interesting,
the world is when stamped into rubber decals.
Rome, Ankara, both Buda and Pest.
Watching a colorful rolling diorama,
pictographs tumbling over a flat white-scape.
Images recalling airport loudspeakers,
beeping taxi cabs and swaying camels.
I nod at a graphic depiction of a flight of pelicans,
bombing Florida,
imagine Sarasota sheltering under torrents of guano.
There is a decal from Mongolia, the magnet reads:
“Welcome to sunny Ulan Bator!" China is reduced to a
bowl of rice with dragons swooping for crumbs
much like London pidgins.
The Roman colosseum nudges Egyptian pyramids,
old lovers, slowly crumbling away.
I don’t see one for Ohio; maybe they only sell them
in Michigan…for target practice.
The fridge is a travel guide for those that sip morning coffee,
and wonder should they even get dressed today.
You fixed Mongolian stew
on a two ring Russian-made burner.
It was understood,
that we would not be drinking
salted milk tea
in Ulan Bator anytime soon.
I would be moving on,
you would be moving into
this one room, bed-less apartment.
Kazakh embroidery,
added an exotic ambience.
to the threadbare living-space.
Later we laid down on goatskins,
imagined that this cold room
was a warm yurt.
Our bodies were a perfect fit,
for an imperfect love.
We kept ourselves warm
beneath thick woolen Deel's,
which we both knew
were the national costume,
of the desperately lost.
MAGNOLIA IN MONGOLIA
Floral gem in a street market
Beautiful by any yardstick
Offered by flower vendor
In crowded street of Ulan Bator
I did a circuit of the market
Searching for another nugget
But only ever saw - one,
With such beauty to stun
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
NOTE Often thought of as semi-subtropical flowering plants, magnolias are actually native to central and east Asia, including Mongolia. Ulan Bator is the capital city of Mongolia.
29 August 2021
You fixed Mongolian stew
on a two ring Russian-made burner.
We understood
that we’d not be drinking salted milk tea
in Ulan Bator anytime soon.
Nevertheless,
we bought Kazakh embroidery
laid on goatskins, treated the room
as if it were a symbol laden yurt.
Your body was my perfect fit,
a silken deel of sensuality,
which we both knew
was the national costume
of the desolate and lost.
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