My name is Safia Elhillo,
and this poem is called
"to make use of water."
dilute i forget the arabic word for economy i forget the english word for عسل forget the arabic word for incense & english word for مسكين arabic word for sandwich english for صيدلية & مطعم & وله /stupid girl, atlantic got your tongue/
blur back home we are plagued by a politeness so dense even the doctors cannot call things what they are my grandfather’s left eye swirled thick with smoke what my new mouth can call glaucoma while the arabic still translates to the white water swim i want to go home dissolve i want to go home drown
half don’t even make it out or across you get to be ungrateful you get to be homesick from safe inside your blue american passport do you even understand what was lost to bring you here
dilute i forget the arabic word for economy i forget the english word for عسل forget the arabic word for incense & english word for مسكين arabic word for sandwich english for صيدلية & مطعم & وله /stupid girl, atlantic got your tongue/
blur back home we are plagued by a politeness so dense even the doctors cannot call things what they are my grandfather’s left eye swirled thick with smoke what my new mouth can call glaucoma while the arabic still translates to the white water swim i want to go home dissolve i want to go home drown
half don’t even make it out or across you get to be ungrateful you get to be homesick from safe inside your blue american passport do you even understand what was lost to bring you here
