i am thinking recently of my friend in high school jack, whose parents when they met fell in love nearly instantly but lacked a language in common. i imagine them lying awake long nights tangled up in each other whispering arabic & french back & forth until their wedding day & then long past it.
jack & i used to spend the spare minutes before & after french class playing an ongoing game of war, which i finally won just a couple of weeks before i graduated. i remember he was sad that since his family had left quebec, his younger brother had forgotten his french.
anyway in what circles am i ever going to find someone who has no english at all?
& besides bean doesn't murmur sweet spanish nothings to me, she just calls me things like mush-eater (comegofio) & tells me i've dressed like a sweet potato (boniato) & sometimes admonishes me to echar ese rostro de cabra con cuello cortado.
in this house i'm the only one leaving neruda poems in suitcases & under pillows.
