the first time i learned language

i learned it with full body / cried / suckled / slept / with such effortful fluency / had language even in dreams / where needs were met / i reached & touched desire / held & fell into loss / crawled & found that all the world / could unfold / with every gesture language became / more immense & left me / incoherent / the mother tongue / on each worthy breath sacrificed / to skin unfamiliar / despite our closeness / lately i feel / like starting over / comforted by the universal / challenge of self-study / home language / trying so hard to keep itself alive / it feels like i remember / like bearing down on uncertain softness / & it looks / i hope / like a step

Donna Tang is a Việt American poet based in Los Angeles, CA. Their work has appeared or is forthcoming in Watershed Review, Little Patuxent Review, and Cotton Xenomorph.