Linguistic Failure

I don’t know how to roll my R’s.

“It’s quite simple”, they say,

rolling their R’s day and night.

Spanish, Italian, Russian,

so many languages require the rolling of the R,

except for English.

English is a funny language.

With its odd grammar nuances and vocal

conundrums, it makes the language harder to learn

for foreigners.

Yet for a native speaker like me,

I never learned how to do

a rolling R.

Granted, I can make the sound of a “chet” in Hebrew,

an unpleasant guttural sound from 

the back of the throat.

No pretty rolling R’s for me.

Only the guttural, back-of-the-throat sound.

So much history comes from words,

vowels and sounds yet each one has its own history.

I don’t know how roll my R’s.

Some tell me I can learn,

others tell me it’s genetic and

I can’t.

I will never.

C’est impossible.

I try

every day.

Sometimes I can fake it.

But ultimately the journey is fruitless.