Broken English
When I was younger, for a long time
I assumed that being an immigrant,
I could not fully understand or
Enjoy English verse, wrote Elif
Shafak, novelist, last Saturday
In The Guardian. There would always be
Something I would miss out—a broken
Piece, an invisible shard. The same
Thing happens to me now that I try
To write a line that is not in broken
English, but perhaps it is not the shard
That I am looking after, the missing
Bit, the tiny element that will
Put everything together, the thing
That lacks, the glue, the shiver, the glass.
Through the broken window, any sound may pass.
Marcelo Coelho, 64, is a Brazilian journalist living currently in London.