#Prague

Cab drivers who know about five English words 
but refuse to use them, are speeding in dilapidated Volvos
through a city where amongst thousand-year-old buildings
tourists take pictures of themselves.

“Look at my duckface in St. Mark’s Square
enjoy the view of my tanned body in Crete
admire my triceps in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.”

No one has looked at her for at least ten minutes
so she purses her lips for one more selfie
waiting for the likes to pour in like water
through a narrow canal, unable to go anywhere else. 

She ignores haters and voids that can’t be filtered away
collecting followers like badges of honor.
Main character of her vlog, not her life.

Around her the city rages on. She’s no more than a speck 
on a piece of space rock. Hashtag nobody cares.

(c) Leen Raats

This poem was published by Descant, a magazine edited by students from a university in Texas. It’s part of the 63rd edition of this paper magazine. They also nominated my poem for the 2024 Pushcart Prize.