IS MY ACCENT A SCALE?

Running up and down with rest-
less repetitive octaves?

Or if a kitchen scale
what does it measure? 

At home we were strangers
who didn’t know each other

didn’t know our pace, face, 
our game. We only met here

on foreign soil 
and got so close we’re

licking with one tongue 
every stamp and vowel

We filter through teeth
saliva, mouth space, we listen

to others. Some stuck. Some en-
jambed. They say the devil 

went through Adam from top to toe
and found him hollow.  First man, 

perhaps, but never again will we 
come across an empty man.

PUBLISHED IN TWELVE MILE REVIEW, VOL. 4, NO. 1, 2024.