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First Days in American School
(Owings Mills, 1991)
I don't know what they are saying;
They look at me like I am dumb.
Standing there all alone,
I am young,
I don't know their language,
I don't know who they are.
They move their lips in a certain timed beat,
But the music I can not hear,
I can't make the sounds come toegether,
Can't tell what they're saying.
I go to school everyday,
Not knowing what is going on,
Hoping the day will end.
When I get lost,
I don't know how to ask for help,
I try with different people;
I try to say it with my voice,
With my hands.
No one understands me.
The beat of my words
Doesn't match theirs.
Finally,
I cry,
And someone understands.
