Umlauts and German Verbs
| filed under: Poem, Chris Abraham, Pomes, Poetry, Writing, Creative Writing, Poet, Poems
Your student room
Could barely fit one but
We fit nicely.
In your repose
You fiddled with
German verbs
I lay propped up
Dizzy with sleep,
Your words hypnotic.
You translate a German
Text: The Difficulties in
Educating Immigrants.
Your brow, with its
Strong dark lashes,
Furrows.
I study your pen
As it wiggles black
And dots umlauts.
Your questions peal
Through hazy sleep
I cover my head in duvet.
The thick cloth book
Slaps as you flip,
Finding meaning.
The staccato words form
an alien German landscape
as verbs and nouns splay:
Adjectives, adverbs,
Gender seem placed
Random like code.
You press me for answers
But I don't know your razor
Aryan tongue.
©1993 Chris Abraham