untranslatable (Poem 20160430)

when we meet again after a long time
i am convinced you have gone native
–as my dad would have said–
from living in a foreign country

even though

you’ve gone nowhere
distance becomes a function
of the passing of time
space itself an illusion when
divorced from the ticking clock

you open your mouth to speak
but all i hear is that place
between two radio stations
you have forgotten
how to use your own voice
you have forgotten
how to speak english

i’m sorry, i say, i don’t speak
knives anymore
i show you my scars
–now thick and no longer pink–
to prove it

——

National Poetry Month
NaPoWriMo Day 30
Translation