Speaking a different audio reality

I’ve learned Past Simple
for many long years,
but somehow it sleeps

and never appears.
A Brit begins to speak,
their words fly,
turning to drifting sounds
that pass me by.

“Didja go t’th’ shop?” — they say.
I freeze.
“Sorry… I don’t even understand”.

“Wotcha up t’nigh’?
S’Fri, innit — fancy ‘it’n pub?”
I blink, confused, like:

“Could you repeat that, please?”

“If ya din’ know,
I been graftin’ all wk...
Graftin’, bruv!”
And I stand there thinking:
Sorry, guy…
but what do you mean?

I smile, nod wisely —
classic survival mode.
Pretending I caught
at least one word.
Many years of grammar
gone in a single line:
the hardest English
is spoken…
just fine.

28.11.2025