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French*
by S.J. TylerFrench words
are jiggling past my ears
they play ping pong
with each other
inside my head
but are never absorbed
understood
after six years of French class
nothing sticks
it crawls away with a mind of its own
before I can grasp it
and cling to it
give meaning
to otherwise blah syllables
that feel like rubber
and have the softest of consonants
too soft to penetrate my brain
and so they hang around outside
and I sit dumbfounded
by the conversation around me
and nod
trying to nod with a French accent is difficult
Ive only ever mastered the laugh
six years and I can laugh in French
but even that does not have completely the right texture
its too sharp and American
not bubbly and thick like real French
so I wont even laugh
I'll just let the sibilance
sibilize my cortex
until maybe I can think French
08/18/2003 Author's Note: Published (Patterns)
Posted on 08/26/2003
Copyright © 2025 S.J. Tyler
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Melissa Arel on 08/27/03 at 05:20 PM I hear ya.. I took about 5 years of french class myself.. You figure I'd understand more than I actually do since my whole family is french- canadian. Ah well. C'est la vie ;-) |
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