Guilty Tongue
for Maria Paz Moreno

if only I can out pour
thanks, appreciation into gracias

I could afterwards learn
to fill an endless number of Spanish words
with thoughts and emotions

necessary to be genuine

necessary as well
for thought and emotions
to fill words without words overturning

without their contents spilling
neat fit’s required, like an outfit

I’ll learn to wear Spanish
like I wear English,
better than I wear French

I have so many Spanish books
so many Spanish friends

I must make Spanish a friend also
in spite of history

in spite of its role
in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade


© Obediah Michael Smith, 2008
4:20 a.m. 05.12.08