My Mother Tongue
like me, was born
in Mississippi
where a form of middle
English is spoken
if not taught.
The mud eaten by some,
but consumed by all
flows in the water
and our veins
flows in our words
you caint understain’
The dialect
I refuse to write
refuses to leave me
refuses to quiet
for every language
is foreign
every poet
is deaf
so why not mine?
Why not me?
Now let us speak
of important things
love, death, and pizza
when the April wind
blows the blond mane
on the golden brown horse,
when the wild flowers
pink and purple and yellow
cover the roadsides.
Cold wind over the green,
green fields, down old Sage
and back up to the springs,
air too cold for swimming,
makes me hope
I live long enough
to get back to my love
and her warm pizza
coming out of the stove.
Published on April 22, 2022 14:54