Frisco Pt.3: A City of Manifold Attractions: A Free-Verse Poetry Photoessay Odyssey with Your Humble Poet Pt. 3: Remember Jake - It's Chinatown

There was a parade so authentic
to what you see in movies,
you expected a car chase any minute
to come screeching through, upsetting
carts of unidentifiable produce -
at one point I heard gunfire, maybe
but it more likely was just firecrackers,
those ones they always set off
in common stereotypes,
look - is it my fault? Is this really
how they see themselves, or
want to be seen? I can't help
if the simple actions being taken
all around me seem
like borderline condescending
stereotypes.

I can't help that. I'm just
the observer, here -
these people are choosing
on their own,
to portray
embody
celebrate
these so-called "stereotypes."
It's all what we used to call "culture,"
before some fuckwit
got a hold of it
and said: "offensive!"
bad
- but anyway, I waited around

no car chase.