Underneath

Anand Ambrosi
July 28, 2022
London tube train as it pulls in

Coffee

I love coffee; I hate coffee.

 

Artisan shops run by twenty somethings

hair dyed; ears pierced; arms tattooed.

beans from Java. Are they marked

with blood? who has the power?

 

I love coffee; I hate coffee.

 

Starbucks on the corner. turn away

the black man waiting for his friend

who is welcome anyways?

approximately indie – do not subvert.

 

I love coffee; I hate coffee.

 

Cafe had to move, couldn’t afford rent:

the artisans and Starbucks goers,

Have no interest in what came before.

Foundations of a global trend forgotten.

 

I love coffee; I hate coffee.

 

Dispose

We do not dispose

what we value; we dispose

what is invisible to us.

 

That empty water bottle

exists, a figment of imagination

in the rubbish bin.

 

What have we disposed of,

made invisible? Are their hands

burdened with responsibility?

 

They dispose of us. We are invisible

as the water bottle to them: tools.

don’t think you are not.



fools. Buy an impossible dream

for the cost of a nightmare

given to somebody else.

 

Woman’s World

Sometimes I think

about a woman’s world.

‘a man in a woman’s world’

do I feel uncomfortable?

I hope not — I think I might.

 

Sometimes I think

about utopia. no

one is free until all are free. 

do I feel comfortable?

I think not — I hope I might.



Tube::Fire

The tube is on fire.

No literally, the tube is on fire.



THE TUBE IS ON FIRE…

that’s not supposed to happen.



it just got too hot.

I guess this is our new normal.



It seems to me we’ve had a lot

of ‘new normals’ recently.

 

Stolen Goods

I think I was meant to enjoy the British museum. Instead, all I saw was stolen goods. Archaeologists ‘found’ these, is what they tell themselves. Let’s ask the Egypt, Greece, South Africa, Australia; the list goes on and on and on. I think I was meant to enjoy the British museum, instead I see blood stained artifacts. Infantilizations, justifications: ‘we take care of these because we have the facilities to.’ That seems to me a weak argument for holding on to stolen goods.

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Anand Ambrosi

<p>Hello! My name is Anand Ambrosi, and I am very excited to be studying abroad in London for the summer of 2022. I study civil engineering at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC and I am fascinated by the many ways that cities impact the lives of those that live within them. In my free time I enjoy reading books, hanging out at coffee shops and public parks, and learning about geography (specifically urban geography). I look forward to sharing my experiences throughout my summer in London as I explore as much I can of what this great city has to offer.</p>

Destination:
Term:
2022 Summer 1, 2022 Summer 2
Home University:
University of South Carolina
Hometown:
Clarksville, MD
Major:
Engineering - General
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