I spent my summer learning French.
How I should drop the end of words
Pretend they don't exist
How I should memorize the verbs
Or I'll be motionless.

I spent my summer learning French.
I learned how the combinations of a few letters
Can turn pretty
And the imagery
Is smooth on the tip of your rolling tongue
Sliding off your lips.

I spent my summer learning French.
I've learned that language possesses beauty
But how come
When I had seen your hopeful and smiling face
I could only muster out harsh sounds
Hard letters
Ugly words
And an "It feels different."

Why are these words not smooth
Like the ones my lips had memorized
Traced like constellations we had followed with our eyes
I know how to sound beautiful
So why do my words make me want to cry?

I spent my summer learning French
And I'm sorry I slowly forgot your face.