"The Ambassador"

[butterflydreaming]

Love, you seem to have forgotten
the negotiations made when our borders
became a place connecting you and me
when, with words foreign to our mouths
we forged our treaties,
trading words of love
as embassies in each other's countries

Love, is there no market
for what I have been sending?
Spices and silks unheeded
will rot when left within their crates
Are they unwanted for being foreign
Are the tastes you favor
only those of your own making?

Love, have you erred in thinking
that we were becoming an empire
my language second to yours
my customs, unfamiliar, to be changed
when, within my own borders
I gave your coin value
equal to my own

My flag is raised with my colors
I will sing my anthem -- will you hear it?
This is not war's declaration
Yet I see your battalions ready in defense
Review the contracts, freely signed
I cannot recall my ambassador
it has made a home in you