GERRY STEWART

★ ★ ★ ★

POETRY

Image by Jr Korpa

Language Learning

For D.

We pull the sun and rain into a noisy classroom,
sifting words for a connection you can draw.

I label your snowflake in English,
your Korean slashes grow with your confidence,
clouds, storms, a whirlwind filling the room.

You fight to remain in black and white,
juggling the rules, the boundaries,
but Finland, this school is muddied winter-gray.

Your frustration shreds worksheets,
breaks pencils and kicks chairs,
voicing what will not translate.

We define progress with sentences, marbles,
ticks and blanks, but it’s uncountable,
a drip-splashing collection
of days and lessons.

I sketch for you a bucket
as if it is enough to carry my meaning.