people we met in cuba - azmi

by the clothes he was wearing

i knew right away

this gentle spirited man

was travelling without a wife

-

having met ashleigh earlier

we thought it might be fun to send him home

with a photo like this on his camera

to show his wife

-

impressed easily by his intellect,

points of observation and good nature

i was somewhat saddened to find out

he's Lebanese

-

because

travel ain't easy

for a boy from lebanon

-

while he is rather homogeneous at a glance

tall

grey green eyes

not really dark

or overtly ethnic looking

he's well spoken

and

while he lives and works in canada...

-

once the authorities see his name

it looks vaguely like one of those names

an amalgamation of parts

of all those names we've heard over and over since 9-11

-

well

he tends to get special treatment

-

i got special treatment once

i didn't like it much

i understand it better now

-

he seems to understand it

conscious of the indignity

and inconvenience

detached from it's bitterness

but nonetheless

oblivious about mixing patterned garments