Trying To Blend In: A Poem

Margo Lestz – The Curious Rambler

A poem about being an older student going to university in a foreign country: In this case, France.

Margo Lestz

27 August 2012

A Bit of Poetry

1–2 minutes

This is a little poem about my experience as a 50-something American taking a course at a French university with 17-18 year-old French students.

Blending In

The other students are young - I'm not.
The other students are French - I'm not.
    I'll just try to blend in.
  
 Waiting in the hallway for our classroom to empty,
 Nonchalant students line the walls.
    I'll just try to blend in.
  
 I find an isolated space, lean casually,
 And open my bottle of water. 
    I'm trying to blend in.
  
 The lid falls and rolls into the centre.
 Coolly, I follow, bend to retrieve it...
    
 ... And pour the contents of my open bottle onto the floor.
  
 I anxiously search my bag for tissues,
 Sheepishly mop up the puddle,
  
 Go red-faced back to my spot along the wall,
    And try to blend in. 

- Margo Lestz

Obviously, I didn’t do a very good job of blending in…

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Margo has authored seven books and writes mostly about England, France and Italy. She has a BA in Liberal Studies with International Emphasis and enjoys travel, languages, history, writing, and experiencing other cultures.