The student’s fascination with
French language began when she discovered that “mer,”
the French word for “sea” was pronounced the same as “mére,” mother.
Primary education taught her that human bodies are
eighty percent water.
In actuality, it is sixty-five percent.
But she believes eighty.
The student ignores salt,
thinks,
We are twenty percent different from the ocean. And “mere” has twenty-five percent more letters than “mer.”
The student is bad at math.
But there are four
-she can count them-
four members of her family.
And she wants to know
what it’s like to be an ocean. But she won’t ask her mother that.
-my cousin Frances, parisfrances.wordpress.com