By: Samuel Hinton

Published: May 2003

ISBN: 3-9808084-3-2

Our Price: $9.00

Special Price in Sierra Leone: Le.7,000

SLWS Creative Writing - (CR-4)

At the lorry park in Monrovia

               twanging dialects

               wares from overseas

               congregations of travelers

               milling around cars and trucks

               waiting for the commencement

               of a journey.

               At the border

               khaki-clad officials

               record details

               of presented documents

               then bid you adieu.

              On the road

               that geographic nightmare,

               flat terrain of potholes

               desiccated by rivulets.

              The devilish stuntman

               of a driver,

               executing, feats of

               dexterous bravado

               while we passengers wince

              and shudder,

               and our cramped knees,

               shocked buttocks,

               in unison scream--

               'What the hell -is wrong

               with the road to Kenema?'

Wearing a shirt and tie

when a safari suit will do.

The second language interfering

in your thought process

when you are excited.

Wondering who or what

you could have been

if the old-boy

network worked for you.

Cooking an ethnic dish

with substitute ingredients

from the supermarket.

When in the old country

they think "you sound American,"

and in the new "you have

an accent,"

and you feel that

they are both right.

When its time to file

your taxes

and the IRS has

all the aces.