False friends

one

two

three

giggling

four

five, are you a noun?

running on the wrong side of the street

six, seven, eight; I will catch you -

nine

hiding behind your friends

ten

Ten.

Your friend is a verb, a tear is not wet, a ten is a -

ten, Ten

A cat is a spiteful woman,

the sensible part of an exhaust,

the lazy term for a boat with twin hulls

Ten, ten, Ten.

zehn.

your breath seeps through my brain

like the plattdüütsche sand dripped through my hands

leaving shell's dust und eine Träne

as salty as the Ostsee

zehn, Zehn, Zehn.

I long to chase you along the streets of Heikendorf

where the cat is only a Katze

catching mice

and miauing auf Deutsch