the world sleeps while i listen. the faucet sings frère jacques frère jacques dormez-vous dormez-vous. what language would i be dreaming if i were. i ask the pillow to consider how in its breaking legacy leads to sitting. leg assis. assis one of many words rooted in my tongue. the pillow says it isn’t at the mercy of language. i say le langage est comme un sort. one thing can be or become another. i say pillow i know you also as oreiller. without that other tongue you wouldn’t be all ears to me. the faucet screams c’est vrai c’est vrai. the pillow says we’re breaking dawn. but no. those are car lights in the window. and there are hours to go before dawn creeps. down. down down down the pillow says. but i am lying down already.
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Dominik Parisien is the author of the poetry collection Side Effects May Include Strangers and the forthcoming memoir On a Scale of 1 to 500 Miles. Dominik is a disabled, bisexual French Canadian and he lives in Hamilton, ON.
