Tomorrow At 10 Poem by Sallie Howson

Tomorrow morning at 10
Or maybe 11
The world will stop
For a cup of tea.

Palestinians will invite their Jewish neighbours in for a chat
Jews will park their tanks in the street
And leave their guns at the door,
Warning the children not to play with them.
They will talk about this and that, the price of bread
And the difficulty of getting a good education these days.

Then being embarrassed by the lack of sugar in the bowl
The Palestinians will call the Americans
Who will pop round with a full packet
And some brownies-just to be neighbourly.
Then not wanting to be left out
The Iraqis will arrive with halva for everyone.

Soon the whole world will be there
Indians with Pakistanis,
North and South Koreans
Hutu and Tutsi,
Black and white,
Pink and brown.
All offering each other local specialities
Some savoury, some sweet.
People from every tribe and nation
All sipping their tea and happily chatting away
With their loving neighbours.

Tomorrow at 10
Or maybe 11