The difference in culture too wide to ignore,

is this man full of wisdom or simply a bore,

my manners prevent me from walking away,

I sense that he knows this as I continue to stay,

I have no need for his cloth or his elephant galore,

though I feel obliged to buy, the more he spreads on the floor,

with his trinkets around him he looks up with a smile,

my hand touches rupee he had known all the while,

the guilt of the tourist was no match for his guile

Spoken word version available at-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc9sYGVSrz4