Follow the mother
holding her child’s hand
through the Red Light District.
Smile at the working girls
dressing rose-colored windows.
Spend an afternoon in a coffeeshop
with an Englishman named Bob
and a joint called ‘Cheese’.
Order a jenever─
remember to bend and sip
before picking it up.
Stand aside for an army of bicyclists;
they own the right-of-way.
Observe ancient church rituals
older than the promise of the New World.
Tour the Anne Frank House
and marvel at the unbeatable tenacity
of creation.
Drop by The Book Exchange:
donate one well-read;
leave with a promising new companion.
Traverse the canals at dusk
with fellow travelers you never met.
Break bread.
Indulge the chocolates, frites,
beers, cheeses.
Try the soused herring.
Tell a self-deprecating joke
about American tourists─
their delight is your passport.
Everyone speaks English,
but you curry favor
with your fumbling attempts at Dutch.
Wander without a destination
through the cobblestoned
City Centrum district.
Languish at midnight
in your third-story window,
curtains open.
Behold a city
that bled to free itself
from puritan austerity,
where tolerance
is good manners,
and pleasure
demands no apology.
**First published in Beyond Words Literary Magazine
**Illustration by Morgane Xenos
