Stereotypes

"La comida es un asco,
no tiene sabor,
es todo de frasco,
le falta el color."

Talkative Spaniards
frowning,
shout their lungs out on the bus.
Messing with their "of's", "the's", "on's", "in's", "about's"...
Andalusian olives's smell
hanging from the tails of their coat,
crying
for a far away land that they love and hate,
all at once.

"I dottori qua
non valgono niente,
ci fanno soffrire,
ci fanno piangere,
se hai l'infezione nel dente."

Musical Italians
with their pasta, pizza, panettone palates
run around markets
criticizing the NHS.
Everything back home is best.

"Les reunions de travail qui n'en finissent jamais,
le cafe qui rappelle l'eau a la chicoree,
les collegues sur lesquels ont ne Peut pas compter.
L'indifference generale: la seule realite!"

Sensual French ladies,
with their lips in an "ou",
complain of coldness,
selfishness,
hypocritical colleagues,
extra work.
"Coffee is horrible",
"days are long",
"when you live abroad."

"Chaotische stadte,
nirgendwo ordnung,
langsamer, teuerer verkehr,
schnrutz auf die strassen."

Methodical Germans
leave their home
to confront a chaotic public transport system
that makes them waste their time,
their productive energy,
their young days.

In the meantime,
at the corner shop,
an old lady talks in Gujarati on the phone,
looking at the till,
receiving my coins with religious satisfaction.

The Turkish TV presenter,
screaming from the next door fish and chip shop,
smiles to the British costumer,
who says without looking:
"Hold on mate,
I'll just pop out to the Chinese,
keep my cod warm!"

Then he'll run home,
to the sofa he shares with a Russian beauty,
who does not complain;
who loves him
for what he is;
who finds British weather warmer,
London transport quicker
and the house bigger than her Moscow flat.
Who'll give him children with strange names
like Katiuska or Vladimir,
both future working hands
of this cosmopolitan town
still fighting for its Britishness,
declaring it in foreign accents,
waving a flag with blue, red and white colours,
on a sky of black Caribbean stars,
silver Asian eyes,
Latino sensual songs
and a multicolour
multicultural,
open minded,
free,
Great
Heart.