As I studied your language
I studied your body—
your vowels and diphthongs,
your consonant clusters
which are famously difficult
for us foreigners to pronounce.
I studied your liquids,
all the complex geometries
of your tongue. I learned
your tenses, your moods:
your indicative, your subjunctive,
but your imperatives
were what turned me on the most—
all those subordinate
clauses where you took the dominant
role, the strict, commanding teacher
and me the submissive
stammering pupil getting it
wrong, getting it right, getting it,
getting it, getting it.