The mixing of peoples is never easy
We spend a lot of time
Inculcating and accommodating
A sense of place
Even if the world shrinks
And spreads out to the cosmopolitan
Ethos of the comparative
They came here in search of a job
An enlightened attitude has it
That the work we do best
Is what we are most interested in
And inclined to pursue
A resultant meaningful work
Turning those efforts to good effect
Even the pursuit of pleasure
Requiring effort as you are moved to hone it
Since nothing quite the same twice
We need more of this than that, he said
Are we intruding on each other’s space
When the sensible approach
Would be to make some distance
Or install a barrier
Lest it all crash in
An airport lobby or a discrete cubicle
There is a reason workplaces are open plan
And households are not
And sometimes the streets have changes of name
As you enter new neighbourhoods
Wouldn’t you think it the same street
One doesn’t need to like
In order to respect
If my palate and itinerary
Differ greatly from your’s
You loved it, maybe I didn’t
And that’s alright
Don’t try to sue me
For attitude of mind
What’s wrong, you might say,
With this picture
Clark Allison
.