Made in China

last night, digging through my cabinets,
i found an old, glass vase (blue on
white ceramic; pictoral of a man moving
a boat through smooth waters)

and i remember when it was given
to me, years ago, after a friend
returned from china

"i got this in guangzhou,"
she said, "where it was made"

it wasn't until much later,
when another friend returned
from japan

and another from germany, italy
(and france)

that i become wholly aware
of the ridiculousness
of our perception

of that expression


(Question: if you travel abroad, you bring back something that was "made" there, and then later show it off to friends. But what, pray tell, do you buy when you go to China?)