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Here I am, not so very far away
On an ordinary day when ordinary people
Are out and about in streets that are not my streets
In the country that is not my country.
I walk amongst them, the close arrangement of my features
Perhaps makes them think of danger.
My small rucksack packed with woollen socks, soft white briefs
A present for my cousin, T-shirts, handkerchiefs
Is maybe packed with bombs, arms, explosives.
A conversation with a dear friend
Is a plot, a terrorist exchange.
We are no longer friends, we are strangers
Speaking in tongues, flames.
Our country has bullet shaped petals,
Our blossom explodes like bombs
Our national dish is laced with arsenic.
Here I am, not so very far away
As I walk down the ordinary street on an ordinary day
Just like this one,
Just like today.