In some cases, the letter won’t translate.
Specified language is always a little tricky,
not like asking
for directions to the swimming pool,
or how much for the loaf of bread
behind the counter.
You craft an art-form of assumptions.
Cut loose the odd words,
ones which clearly don’t fit
in the rigid confines of business,
ones surely not meant.
Leave a framework of mundane.
Puzzle a meaning from the scraps,
a rhythm for the found poem
butchered out of miscommunication.
Send a response in English,
cringe a little for the recipient,
know they will likely do as you
and turn to an app,
a browser tab,
punch in the words,
frown at the nonsense.
If it wasn’t for a translation app. I’d have no piece this week! It’s still probably nonsense!
Mine is called ‘Suis Moi’
Dear Carol,
If the language barrier’s not enough, there are the idiomatic words and phrases. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thank you Rochelle. Yes, sometimes an English dialect can seem completely alien even to a native speaker.
Your take on this challenge is interesting. Sometimes so much gets lost in translation.