Mohammed

A student from the U.S.A.
at 16 in Sweden
I took a cigarette
offered by Mohammed,
one of many Arab youths
at our high school

We talked about Volvos and Thunderbirds,
our mutual like of Coca-Cola,
and the merits
of cell-phone brands

Impressed that I knew
the meaning of "Quran,"
he promised any street protection
I might need

Mohammed was known as a tough,
a hard nature from a desert land,
but he seemed like a good guy