Five Stages of Tongues

Arlina Y.

i. Yī kāishǐ wánquán bù huì

New to the roof of the mouth

And the tip of the tongue

Alien dialect it starts as

Inevitable accent 

Limited words

Polar opposite grammar

No bǔxí bāns can be enough

To prepare one 

For a new voice

ii. Màn man dǒng duō yīdiǎnle

Snippets of words

That flowed out 

Like a leaking faucet

More phrases were

Swallowed and digested easily

In comparison to before

Puzzles gradually found their spot

And the water drops

Gradually accumulates up in the dam

iii. Wǒ dǒng nǐ zài shuō shénmeliǎo

Realization of improvement

Time made its worth

And the dam filled to the brim

Phrases fathomed without a second sorry

And bridged like the rainbow 

Followed up with the sun

Enough to survive in a faraway land

And understand what was once bizarre to you

Now more than comprehensible

iv. Wǒ zhīdào zěnme shuōle

Paragraphs grew less daunting

And perhaps foreign

Words whistled out of my mouth

Like smoke from a cigarette

Smooth and nonchalant

Normal to speak 

On my own command

Another secret language

Between myself and I

v. Wǒ de dì èr gè yǔyán

Without glazed eyes nor stuttersSometimes a mix of the two

A fused Frankenstein sentence

With my sword wielded

I’ve made it past the obstacles 

At the final exit 

And sheathed now two swords 

By my side 

Yīngwén hé zhōngwén