“What is your name my dear
Where do you come from?”
(IN HER MIND) 
I like the basic look of you 
But what place do you call home?

I look at her expectant face 
It’s so brimful of hope 
I wonder if I should in fact 
Play to her embedded tropes 

I smile a little smile and then
I look her in the eye
“I’m from _____, my friend”.
I see her excitement wilt and die 

She rallies as best she can 
She goes to a lot of trouble 
But I’ve put a big fat pin into 
Her socio-cultural bubble 

Her smile, it slowly wanes and then
It falters to a grim
Look of being unsure, like she’s 
Invited the enemy in 

I look into her eyes and see
Hesitancy, disappointment 
I smile a bigger smile now 
To appease, to be an ointment 

A chance I give to those who seem
Caught in a state of flux
Their hearts and minds, in a grind
That confusion surely sucks! 

But She doesn’t warm up to me
Her face is now quite set 
The name and the person 
Are no longer relevant 

(IN HER MIND)
You’ve told me where you come from 
That’s enough for me, thank you. 
My steadfast biases have 
Second-guessed the rest of you.