i’m completely fluent in ignoring problems until they’re too big to fit in my body

i speak a passable amount of savoring a moment before it slips through my fingers

i could hold a light conversation in letting you see my wounds that haven’t scabbed over

i know a few vocab words of telling someone what they mean to me

probably need a rosetta stone intensive in understanding all the selves inside this dew-soaked soul  

i’ve never been in love, but i think that language would come to me easy

i’d still want to practice though

make sure our dialects know no barriers

tongues rising and falling in yes and this and i choose you

speak to me in your language

so i can practice

Neda Dallal is a writer based in New York City. Her work often contains themes of pop culture, identity, migration, and belonging. In addition to writing, Neda helps bring other writers’ work to life in her day job as a marketer at Penguin Random House. In her spare time, she loves exploring New York, watching movies, painting her nails, and cultivating community.