"To Make Use of Water" by Safia Elhillo

My name is Safia Elhillo,

and this poem is called "to make use of water."

dilute

i forget the arabic word for economy

i forget the english word for عسل

forget the arabic word for incense

& english word for مسكين

arabic word for sandwich

english for صيدلية & مطعم & وله ‎

/stupid girl, atlantic got your tongue/

blur

back home we are plagued by a politeness so dense

even the doctors cannot call things what they are

my grandfather’s left eye

swirled thick with smoke

what my new mouth can call glaucoma

while the arabic still translates to

the white water

swim

i want to go home

dissolve

i want to go home

drown

half don’t even make it out or across

you get to be ungrateful

you get to be homesick

from safe inside your blue american passport

do you even understand what was lost to bring you here