Dutch

I am fiftyish
Visiting my brother
At his flat in Amsterdam
Where he has lived most
Of his life becoming Dutch
Muttering about hard
And soft air rolling
His eyes telling
Me NO that
Is not how
You say
It in
Dutch
My only
Phonetic
Ability is to
Say ho fehlt
Kostet while ik
Look for a teapot
At a secondhand shop,
While on the train returning
With my brother from visiting
His musician friends in Germany
He takes my passport and his
To give to the German
Customs inspector
Who frowns but
I smile and so
Confirm his
Prognosis
I am an
Idiot
With an
American
Odd last name
Whose brother is
Dutch which warrants
A shrug of the sooner out
Of Germany the better
And I am amused
At how very
Much I am
Unaware
Of here
Far
From
Texas.
Twenty
Years later
I will work on
Holland America
Ships lecturing
About history
Still aware
Of how
Much
I am unaware
But at home
In a Dutch
Culture.