Going to Warsaw, Poland and attending the final round of the Chopin International Piano Competition was an enriching experience. To begin from the beginning, my friend Millie Siu and I hopped illegally on the local bus. (We wanted to pay but didn’t know how to work the machine!) Without knowing exactly where our apartment was, we got off at Warsaw Central:
Home
Home is the big downtown
hurried rhythm
cold-shoulder shrugs.
Home is the big signs
flashing neons
malls and hotels.
To go away is to arrive at familiarity,
the comfort of international chains
global logos.
Indoor heating systems provide the warmth.
Glass revolving doors recycle tourists.
Warsaw Central
the heart is the place of exchange
mechanical valves opening, closing.
Home is where businesses get done.
Home is traffic jam.
Home is everyone talking in a foreign language.
Home is—
Give me a map, please.
