I am no linguistic scholar,
but I am a linguaphile, and
I use languages I have inherited 
from my parents and their parents

and I have formally studied
Latin, Russian, Italian, French,
and I have noticed that 
languages are irregular in the
same places

the many come
leave behind
their verbs for 
to go and to have

to have come 
and to haven't
and then to have
went away

oh, 
when are they going to go...
or shall they never return?

humble tables,
oddly-strung lutes perfectly 
tune to the sound of waves

fingertips slur intonements
across nylon and rosewood
bounce between frets and land
as if on padded slippers

here is where the melody is and
there is where's harmony

there

cc: Chagall 2021