Syntax Error

I opened my mouth to ask for the cream

and the words were like stones I couldn't lift.

I’ve lived in this country like a long, dull dream

watching the grammar start to drift.

The barista smiled and answered in light

American vowels that cut through the haze.

I felt my mother’s tongue curl in fright,

losing the map through the old, familiar phrase.

The roof of my mouth is dry as a leaf.

I’ve forgotten the way to say ‘please’ or ‘wait.’

It’s a quiet, linguistic kind of grief,

standing there at the counter, arriving too late.