Language of Homo sapiens

By Chantal Eyong

I don’t think in English
I think in melodies and speak in tongues
My grammar gets caught in the wavelength spectrums
Only bees can see

Pollen drunk
Honey-lipped smacker
I slur
when I talk
Translation
Cross pollination
Tracking where birds fly
When the sun sets

I’m buried under the caterpillar that looks like
Cyndi Lauper
Mopping my pearl tears
Under banana leaves

Speak English?
Does it have an epidermis and dermis layer?
Does it bleed?
Oh.
That’s irrelevant?
Oh.
Humanity needs forms of communication, useful for describing things like
What hibiscus tastes like when paired with ginger and honey?
Grammar is the pinnacle of discipline and mastery?
Oh.
Speak English?
Oh.

The diaphragm is hollow, like the letter
O
in shape
that helps us breathe.
Is nature not enough?

Chantal Eyong

Writer

Chantal is an author, artist and media producer based in Los Angeles, California. Her work focuses on Afro-diasporic narratives in relation to the self, place-making, archives and memory. Chantal holds an MFA in Screenwriting from the University of California Riverside and is currently a doctoral student in the Media Arts + Practice program at the University of Southern California.