"we live in a permanent state of homelessness'
I sit on a bench
waves of the green grass ocean attempt to wet my foreign
toes
for the last few minutes
this bench is my home
housing bag and books
I like its wooden silence

"we live in a permanent state of homelessness"
Edward Said words scurry into my mind like squirrels
I leave this bench temporarily
back to ear phones
to finally learn to write one of
the languages of my country.

for millions, benches are permanent home.
To them it is not a metaphor.
they come to sit with me on this bench
for a moment
to remind me that longing is relative
with all due respect to Edward Said.

Princeton, Sep 19th, 2007