The Swedish Man

I love travelling overseas
each country
the same planet
painted by a different artist
language become an abstraction
hearing without listening
though in Sweden
everyone can speak English

Peter speaks English
with charming little errors
I did go
Rather than
I went
Coffy
In the morning
Place yourself on the train

Eighteen years ago
I placed myself on the train
it went across a bridge
and then under the Baltic Sea
(why don't i remember this more clearly?)
and took me to Malmo, Sweden
where one of the first things Peter and I did
was go to a sex shop

he bought a package of 100 condoms
all colors of the rainbow
my three months here will be well spent
i joked
if we use them all up

we did

i already know
what i don't like about Peter
he's an INFP
so am i
sometimes i see
too much me
in him
also
much like he doesn't believe in religion
-fine with me-
he doesn't believe in romantic love
i hate that i love romantic love
-the non-corny kind-
but i need it
its a lovely drug
and a mollifying
though ultimately fake
sense of security

Peter has become obsessed
with his viking-level politics
he's fiercely anti-immigration
much of it fear based
some of it inconvenient reality
i have to understand
that i don't fully understand
quite how Sweden's politics
compare to my country's

early on
Peter suggested never being too quick
to react to each other
as imperfect translation
could lead to misunderstanding
it's a great policy
even those who speak the same language
should adopt it

Peter and I
for the most part
are easy together
sex is easy
we love each other's pets
he plays his guitar
i photo edit and write

but that was eighteen years ago

now
we no longer need condoms

but caution applies

to everything else