Countries built from parts,
human parts and political papers...
Vietnam: an emerald land, salted pineapple on a stick and men racing engines on prayers and strategically placed elastic bands.
Afghanistan: dusty hems, the chorus of Euphrates bullrush in the desert wind and roadblocks.
USA: home of the hardboiled detective, the talent of positivity and the lick of tongue over gleaming teeth.
Russia: Duchas in birdfull woods, vast expanses of empty land, scurvy, downtown bars and long limbed girls.
A country cannot be a sum of these small parts.
But they are.
The child's eye view.
The watchful neighbourly shrew.
Human threads knotted into life.