i felt a burning in my throat
when i cut out my mother tongue.
i let the blood pool in my gums before i spit it into the sink,
cascading from my lips to the drain.
i felt a tightness in my chest
as I looked at my mother tongue.
it had no place in the american body
i made for myself.
and yet I felt a deep regret
as I stared at my mother tongue.
a foreign tongue could love its body
if i let my body love it first.
i cried out with an empty mouth
no longer holding mother tongue.
i took it from the sink and threaded a sewing needle through
as i tried to stitch my mother tongue back on.