Wait

The sliding glass doors make a soft scraping sound
And busy people trying to find their gates meet me inside.
I am tense with nervousness,
trying to come up with words to say when you arrive
But it’s hard to find the right ones,
Harder in a different language.

I meet up with a group of excited faces.
Some with rosy cheeks from a nonstop smile,
some with anxious frowns.
I slip into the distracted crowd
And wait.

Three girls in front hold a familiar piece of paper
A banner we have been working on,
Welcoming you to our humble continent.

One which we don’t think too fondly of at times,
But I guess you enjoy the idea of America
Since you are leaving your beautiful country
To live here.
If only for a few weeks.

The colorful lines and squiggles shape out the names of your classmates
I find yours in the muddle of characters
deep purple, surrounded by red flowers
Underneath the larger characters
That spell out “Yocoso!”
Welcome.

I stand here staring at the long hallway
leading to your gate
wondering if you’ll like it here.
In wonderful America.
Confusing and distant America.
Home of a foreign culture to you,
And sometimes seemingly foreign to me.

I’ll find out soon
For as I stand here
Your plane is descending onto the runway
And all we have to do
Is wait.