Kenneth Reeds
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Eating your words

3/7/2018

 
A colleague has a quote on her door about accents being a sign of bravery. This idea struck me as a good one and I have interjected it into lectures and conversations. Rudy Francisco captured it poetically in this piece from his collection Helium. Anyone who has a relationship with immigration can relate to these words:  

Accent
My mother’s accent is
the most popular brand
of salt in her country.

She gently sprinkles a little on
every word before she allows
them to pass her lips.

This is a ceremony that happens
every time she has something to say.

When foreign soil and home
are synonymous, your mouth
becomes a kitchen, each sentence

an entrée. Every time you speak,
you are preparing a meal, the conversation
is a dinner party and you are the chef,

just hoping
that you used
all the correct ingredients.

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