Tianjin Mall

I have been searching
For a set of dinner place
Mats depicting the paintings
Of landscapes by Wang Meng
A late Ming dynasty artist so I
Am busing into Tianjin mall
To search but the place is
Strangely unfriendly with
No smiles returned and
A hostility to an English
Language speaker I
Never encountered
Elsewhere in the
World a sort of
Reluctance to
Be helpful to
A Customer
Searching
For place
Mats far
From
My ship
In a long
Hallway of
Goods I left
With a bad taste
About Chinese hospitality
I never expected I would find.
Perhaps they were not permitted
In 2012 to be friendly or helpful
To an American shopper but
It seemed to me more of a
Cultural view of society
And who was worth a
Bit of courtesy and
Who was not so
I wonder why
All the other
Peoples of
The Far
East
We’re so
Courteous and
Friendly to me from
Japan to Hong Kong
From Korea to Viet Nam
To Singapore to Indonesia
All along Australia’s coasts and
On across the Pacific to back
Home though I never found
A set of those beautiful
Chinese landscapes
Of people at work
And the rivers
Bridges and
Buildings
Of Ming
China.
At least
Not in the
Tianjin mall.