by Stuart Salomon
So docile and attentive. Like they really
Care about how the first settlers planted corn
And made candles.
So fresh in their new, white Reeboks.
So patiently waiting for the ride at Disneyworld.
So willing to gog and gape at the Falls.
Sheep.
But tourists are pulse signals, kitschy ambassadors,
Testaments to peace.
How I’d long to see them flocking to Falujah,
Buying souvenir plates from the Hindu Kush,
Or bumper stickers with, “ I ♥ LOVE ♥ Ramallah,” or a
T shirt, “My parents went to Groznyy, and all
I got was this lousy shirt.”
Stuart Salomon is an English teacher at Jakarta International School.