I am writing a
poem in English.
Which means
every other line
I stop.
Not because
I've run out of ideas.
Because I've
run out of language.
What rhymes
with language?
Baggage.
Well...
that'll do.
I have plenty
of that.
Physical.
Emotional.
50 years worth off.
Damage.
There's another
one.
The damage I do
to English.
Or perhaps
the damage English does to me.
I keep writing.
I keep opening
dictionaries
like they're a well for this thirsty foreigner.
Maybe I should
stop at English instead.
What rhymes
with English?
Childish.
My sense of humour,
As I translate
my jokes
with an Arabic passport.
Extinguish.
Distinguish.
Is there a
difference?
There must be.
I'd Google it.
Anguish.
Relinquish.
Finish.
See?
Even the rhymes
are trying to convince me
to give something up.
but I have much to say
I know lots of words.
Discombobulated.
Quintessential.
Oxymoron.
Ubiquitous.
Beautiful
words.
Words that walk
into a sentence
like they own the place.
I know exactly
what they mean.
I just don't
know if they are too big for my poems,
Can’t share a sentence
with others
So I stick to
smaller words.
The sort that
don't mind
sharing same bed with many siblings
and my sentences come across complex with contradictory meanings and all over
the place
Oxymoron,
discombobulated.
Final step, let
me cleanse the poem of all the Bees
You know;
B (P) for
Better, not B for Brother?
I ask because I don't have a P in my language
Done:
I love English
But do not have
the language
I know, it is
childish
I am sorry for
the damage
And if this
poem sounds simple,
good.
That means
I stopped
trying to write
like an English poet
and started
writing
like me.
Ahmad Baker
July 2026