Parallel Universes

You never have to go that far
From Home
To find a foreign country.

Some of us are born into them.
Our families
Never sure of the language
Or currencies
The means of exchange.

And some of us migrate
Into them.
Fleeing our familiarity.

But most of us
Ignore them.

Parallel universes going on
As our lives unfold in droll dullness

Same and safe in regularity.

The bodega or Asian market
In the mini-mall,
The other language publication
Sold side by side with the Tribune
Worlds unto themselves
Foreign lands
Under our noses
In our neighborhoods, next door.