Since I learned this second tongue,

my voice is split in two:

 

one that echoes

my grandmother’s proverbs,

 

another that mimics

things strangers say.

 

Since I learned to write this second tongue,

the spelling of my name has shrunk:

 

from four letters found in دعاء

to three in this second tongue;

 

difficult sounds replaced

with easier ones.

 

You could say my name has lost

some of its character

 

and ‘Dua’ has become one half

of this strange duality.