Shin En
37th Floor
Shiodome City Center
The Japanese Secretaries
Stand in unison
Upon my arrival
All for me
You shouldn’t have
But thank you
180 degree view of Tokyo
900 square miles
10 Million people
All walking in unison
To a tune I don’t understand
I will never understand
I stick out
Like blood on a white table cloth
Like a fly in a bowl of Miso
208 lbs of flesh
Meat and bone
MIAMI to Tokyo is 7500 miles
18 hours total flight time
Many tens of thousands will be spent
I will avoid rice
But by the end of the trip
I’ll be eating it by the handful
The Japanese business men surround me
All dressed the same
Blue blazer
Blue or white shirt
Loose tie
Round glasses
No identity
I’m in my Aviators
Dragons on my sleeve
Brown as from last weekend
A 3 day frat party
Vodka and Gatorade my libation
Judging bikini contests
Near the FLORIDA - Bama line
Now gazing into the
Deep blue waters of Tokyo Bay
The curvilinear slopes
Of the Rainbow Bridge
Remind me of her jaw line
The random gracefulness
Of the waves
Remind me of her gesticulations
Warm with desire
I plunge into the abyss
Hoping I’m buoyant
Transfixed on its dark coolness
Sliding into the breaks
Gasping for air
Serves no purpose
I’ve grown gills
Webbed toes
I call this home now
My motherland
For which I never knew
And can never un-know
Squatters’ rights do not
Exist in Maritime law
So slowly I sink
With a plastered smile
Flag in my hand
Searching for a sea floor
Which may not exist at all
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