Italian, The Language

She has so many the articles
And the her gender for every

The her nouns and the her adjectives

So many of the her words 

Are familiari and simili

Like a sterotyped immigrants

Tacking vowels onto the end of everything

But not as consistently as one would hope

The her verbs have always had many tenses

Which we have probably had all along

But which we never learned because the English

Doesn't have grammar of which to speak

At least to me they never taught it

I learn the words 'to laugh' 'to cry' 'to smile'

I smile, I laugh, I even cry a bit when

Before the race the horse actually kisses

The monstrance offered by the new young priest

And when the tower catches fire 

From the celebratory torches lit after the race

But in the our class while we explore 

This rich, emotional, nuanced tongue

Though they may furrow their brows

I learn that in Italian the word "frown"

non esiste.

~Andrine de la Rocha

9 Settembre 2017