Market Place

*Market Place*

Smells like fish and strawberries
and sweet fresh baked bread and body odor
all at once.
But as I point to the ripe cherries,
I know only one word for weight
in in my childish Serbian.
Kilo.
A kilo of cherries, molim, turns out to be a lot.
I eat for 3 meals,
pits and all.
Grocery stores only -
until my vocab improves.

Learning new words

*Krofna*
My first acquired Serbian word
sticks
Krofna!
Yum
Round "o" like the hole in this doughnut like pastry,
filled with djam and satisfaction.
I can survive,
I can order a pastry in this foreign land.
Moja krofna

turkish toalet

*Turkish Toilet*

Shitting like a bear in the woods
trying to miss my shoes
wiping myself with grocery receipts.
I know now
why the Ottoman Empire had to fall,
dignity lost
disease feared,
I am more American
than I care to own.