Her Rucksack

When we give you this,
we’ll throw in, as well,
Niagara Falls...
the Rocky Mountains
with their shawl
of Bristlecone Pines...
a dozen or so
grazing, Bighorn Sheep.

You may as well have, too,
the Long Son Pagoda –
complete with dragons
breathing fire...
the Sapa Valley
with its crooked seams
of rice fields...

its Sunday night market,
where wide-eyed
kids ran rings around
the English lady
with hair
the colour of straw...
who wanted you
to have this...
to take her places
she never saw.