Tolerance

this is Amsterdam

city of intellectual tolerance

coffee and cannabis

designated bike lanes 

red-light district

sex shops and prostitution

Who am I to question

as I wander your streets and digest

your magnificence

Venice of the north

with your canals and bridges

weaving amongst

your

haunting architecture

home of Anne Frank

and severed earlobe van Gogh

lives lived in

reflected hope and love

and yet

the sea has no generosity for you

when the great floods come

will your levees wash away

and return you

to the home

from once you came

or will you stubbornly

remain amongst the

death and destruction

and the Westerly winds

as you have for centuries

inviting the weary sailor

into your arms

until next time

I breathe you in

Amsterdam

~

missing the mom gene