Mother tongue

I’ve lived outside

My language too long

My mother tongue

Stuck foreign

Between two worlds

A bridge unstable

To my own heritage

Words tumble uncomfortable

Out of my mouth

No longer sharp and whole

My shi-ot’s leak

My di-gut’s muted and cold

I have been swimming in different ideas

Soaking for years until

They’ve seeped into my mouth

Betrayal rich and shouting

I no longer think the same

Yet this fraying connection remains

Through parents and grandparents

Stories told again and again

Of love and sacrifice and pain

that loosen my tethered tongue

And pushes me to try once more