Hola

I tend to leave out certain words sometimes,
when speaking to them, so they understand.
Of course, I have respect for foreign men
just as for those who might call me their own.
You see, I am not one to go about
adjusting dialect or frame of mind
to fit that of the man across from me
unless communication might be lost.
So if I tend to leave out certain words
due to their coarseness on the ear or tongue,
it’s only so the chance for relation
is not lost in the garbled transmission.
In fact, when it grows late, and I have had
several drinks and just happen to pass
the busboy on the way to the bathroom,
all that I can muster up is “Hola.”