Korean Lessons

Korean Lessons

all i do is mouth
yes, show
proper respect
in the appropriate space -
strain against words
not mine. loving
these parents
like my own
i can never tell them
a hot block of speech sticks
in my throat, they’re
not my words.
i bow, shake hands, nod
mutely, watch distance
grow greater, the tour
coach slowly pull

away

from our friends, from our drinks, from the pub, drunken hands clutch a soft, warm waist. up against a wall my slurred korean shoots out rich, sharp and strong. strangers made known by gin and beer, we clasp our spaces together, fuse our understandings. our thrusts and parries in and out of parks, pants, and occupied bedrooms stumble through the growing morning. finally, repulsed, cursing fluently i stagger away