Harry Potter Comes in Spanish, Too!

I don't pretend
to know the details,
but today's the big
release date of the
last book in the series
for Spanish readers.
I can't imagine
that Spain didn't
get the release
last July, so
on the surface,
it's confusing.
Ordinary American
readers are still
toddling along,
picking up random
books in the series,
but for Spanish language
readers, they get
two whole copies
for their big day!
But, they have to wait!
Not even when
the store opens
can they have
one of them, but only
after noon strikes!
I'm so excited for them!

The babel fish tells me
that I should care more,
that I shouldn't mock
the occasion, but here
I go anyway, because
it just seems so absurd.

Part of the joke,
of course, is that
this is a British
phenomenon washed up
on our shores, and
even though we've
all but recobbled it
in our image (the first
book, at the very least,
when we rechristened it),
made a celebration
out of each release date
(except this one),
Harry's not ours,
and it probably gnaws at us.

We're the new kings of comedy!

But there they go anyway,
claiming the prize,
all the glory of the Muggles,
while we fashion the reward
as our own (we made the movies).

And then the new
release date comes,
and we're forced to
eat Muggle pie anyway.
The Dark Mark is
imprinted on all
our forearms,
a signal of
our opposition
to all that
Harry stands for.
United?

Hardly.