Neighborhood...

Our job was sorting mail -
overtime at Christmas
3 shifts, crews rotated 
designated work areas 
where machines now 
labor to move the mail 
Hank was about to retire;
Japanese, always solemn, 
rarely spoke
Micho's sweet smile -
never used a day of sick leave
in her career,
she loved to talk about
her prize winning chrysanthemums
Benita was a new hire,
from the Philippines
dearly missed her family
Harry was also Japanese, 
always had a fresh remark,
harmless banter, joking was his style
Martha, my coworker  - 
graveyard shift, single mother of
4,  black,  full of vigor,
hilarious company
Jerry worked every day with me
at the registry, 
selling stamps, 
accepting valuable packages
He had arrived from Vietnam in the 70's; 
we worked well together, 
had a system, an understanding
We were productive , efficient,
had happy customers
Victor, his brother, worked in the back -
loaded mail on the trucks
He had a way with people -
put them in their place without
their realizing it,
never said a negative word
Sue made beautiful Chinese silk screen
Maria and her husband Luis,
hard workers from Mexico, 
she worked till she gave birth
right there in the elevator
Some liked to gossip, 
some were slackers,
but they were the minority...
Once a month 
we brought potluck  -
food was delicious and varied
from Hawaiian barbecue, stir fry, 
beans and enchiladas, 
chow mien, Thai, duck feet, 
egg rolls, sushi, macaroni & cheese,  
casseroles, lumpia,  adobo - 
chicken in 
one hundred different ways..
breads, cakes, and pies 
potpourri of desserts 

My neighbor two doors down 

is a Bonsai expert, 

has a pagoda garden

Sam across the street is Burmese -

He and his Vietnamese wife, 

May, adopted little David,

a Chinese boy

A Samoan family lived on the corner,

moved when their kids graduated

I can't forget Lee

who lives next door to me

She's an attorney, teaches English,

takes care of many 

of her native Korean elderly

26 families in this cul-de-sac

An Englishman and his wife 

The rest of us are mongrels -

European ancestors 

Me...I'm mostly Irish 

and we didn't get along 

with Italians, and others 

who immigrated to the US, 

.....at first

We are different in customs,

 in ways we approach life 

and family issues, 

but we are basically the same

in the truly important ways

We help each other, 

respect each other's 

background, privacy; 

we are a cross section of the USA,

melting pot of individuals 

with  lives that play out 

in every day events that
 inspire understanding,

optimal living for all

in the same community 

No need for running interference

between parties -

We are enriched by sharing, 

exchanges stories,

watching each other's kids 

play and grow.  

Born of this diversity is 
TOLERANCE, 

Education tears down  

real or imagined barriers

If only the world would 

catch up, follow suit, 

fall into the same pattern,

continue in the same vein,

To have world peace one day -

acquaint the ancient 
with the new
To live together in harmony

We are all part of God's rainbow

with different shades of skin;

our offspring's offspring

will live in an era 

of co-mingled DNA, but we have
a long way to go to solve the
age old problems 
of hunger, hostility 
reaching across all 
boundaries

dversepoets.com

Kelvin has asked us to write about anything Asian, spurred by insensitive racial remarks made on his blog.  He lives in the Philippines.. we all have experiences with Asian culture, cuisine, friends, or art,,it will be interesting to see what is written about in poetry form...one last post before I take leave.