I’m quiet now.
It’s hard to be loud when you’ve grown
used to silence and hide from your
mother tongue. To write in another
language is to forget where you’re from,
she said.
She said her name is Gal and she’s
sorry her English isn’t better. I watched
her suck her thumb. She said she just
turned sixteen. Gal means wave, as
in the sea. The sea is loud.
I’m quiet
walking beside quiet;
fists clenched.
I watch the clock. The clock ticks loud;
it tells me it’s time we talk, but I’m used
to silence. I take cue from Gal — stick
my thumb in between my lips and move
it in; out.
What is subtle?
Subtle is an order.
Orders are loud
when spoken into
