I dropped French in the middle of my second year
My ear loved the sounds, but I didn’t practice at all
I started my lifelong habit of failing to persevere

A language wasn’t required, so I had nothing to fear
Instead, at five foot eight, I tried out for basketball
Dropping French in the middle of my second year

The consequences of dropping it were never that clear
Until later, when Paris sang to me with its clarion call
And I began to question my habit of failing to persevere

In the cafés, as strange words bounced off my ear
I regretted that I hadn’t found the wherewithal
Three years after I’d dropped French in my second year

Unable to converse, I was a gauche conventioneer
As I mumbled “Je ne sais pas,” like a neanderthal
A result of my lifelong habit of failing to persevere

Unless I was spending money, I’d not even get a sneer
On that trip I took in the time of Charles de Gaulle
After I dropped out in the middle of my second year
A result of my lifelong habit of failing to persevere


© by Kevin Arnold.
Used with the author’s permission.