Effable

Forget everything you've ever learned
about frangipane. The real focus is 
the frankfurter, that sweet weight on a plate.
The carnival has flown. Farewell to flesh!
Forget-me-nots not so far-fetched
once you get to know the family borage.
It's not like they are farkleberries, for god sakes!
Flirting in FORTAN won't get you very far.
It's a love language without Fahrvergnugen. Still,
what a pleasure partaking of farfalle
lightly sauteed with garlic and squid ink.
Many eff words can get you fired. Honestly,
this fan letter reads like a freshman
gushing over a French graduate student.
My apologies. Since I said farewell
to my far-flung friends, it's been
easier to suffer the pitfalls
of the utterly expressible.

First published in the Atlanta Review, April 2025.