Family Tongue
by Rahat Tasneem

My father has many tongues,
but little feelings to go with them
and is sparse with his words.
Maybe you don’t need too many words
when you have a miscegenation of languages
at your disposal.

My mother is certain, and verbose in her monolingualism.

I struggle between my two languages-
one found, one forgotten.

All of us still fail to understand each other.

 

 

About the Poet:  Rahat Tasneem, a writer of prose and poetry, is a development professional and a social researcher. She has recently enjoyed a creative writing workshop in Paris at Paris American Academy taught by the likes of Major Jackson, Elliot Holt, Rolf Potts, and Dinnah Lenny. She is currently editing her first fiction manuscript titled, “A Thousand Dark Rats”, which she hopes she will be able to share with the world someday.

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