First you want to know
why I don’t write poems
in my own language—
Which tongue was mine
though, before you
tore it from its bed?
Torque is the instance
of force that causes
something to twist
against itself,
against the trellis
to which it’s been lashed.
Here I am: I’ve lived nearly
more than half my life
away from what you call
the boondocks.
In response to an entry from the Morning Porch.