Tongue Tied in Clichés: A Blessing in Disguise
A blessing in disguise,
a double-edged sword—
a far cry from peace,
yet all in all,
at the drop of a hat
we reach for a ballpark figure,
beat around the bush,
break new ground,
burn the midnight oil.
By the book we cut to the chase,
play devil’s advocate,
fill the void with food for thought,
start from scratch,
then get cold feet.
Give the green light,
go down in flames,
hit the nail on the head,
find ourselves in over our head,
jump on the bandwagon,
keep something at bay,
leave no stone unturned.
Out of our depth,
past the point of no return,
we read between the lines,
take it with a grain of salt,
see only the tip of the iceberg—
until at last we throw in the towel.
There's a lot to be said
for silence
but you won't hear it from me
I'm satisfied tongue-tied
as the less said the more I see
and even if the point is moot
'tis a wise owl
who don't give a hoot
YY UR YY UB IC UR YY 4 ME
(Too wise you are too wise you be I see you are too wise for me)
For the winter carnival bundled up,
frozen breath adds to anticipation;
Steaming cappuccino filling my cup,
the vertex of this warm celebration;
Eliminate the need to be grown-up,
tonight enjoy a childhood fixation;
Indulge yourself in a ferris wheel ride,
an event leaving you all but tongue-tied.
In the realm of self-interest, a curious soul,
Could not adhere stamps, sans wit owning a role.
His tongue, like a rover in arid terrain,
Lingered on whimsy, a scoffing refrain.
Precision eluded, in blindfolded dance,
Tongue franking an effort, missing each chance.
The stamp, a library of lore unbespoke,
His tongue still meandered, lost in each stroke.
Like giraffes when they strain ~ reaching treetops,
His sealing endeavor was a clumsy hopscotch.
The stamp lay there mocking, a coaxed witticism,
Tongue still missed the mark, a terrible tourism!
Metaphors clung, but not on the letter,
A longing unfilled, his tongue never got wetter.
The envelope sighed, craved wit's lifting brew,
Yet his tongue frolicked, having wandered no clue.
He licked and he slurped, as though miming delight,
A grand postal crime, a federal plight!
Metaphors piled up, unsent missives distressed,
His sense of himself was a bewildering behest.
In the spirit of levity, a story confided,
A stamp unadhered, a metaphor provided.
When engaging with mail, overcome by caprice of,
Just leave the attempt and go buy self-adhesive.
Whenever my speech simply stalls
meet one of my biggest downfalls;
They have been built high by curveballs;
Forgive my walls, forgive my walls;
It’s so hard for me to confide,
I know that there’s nothing to hide;
It may leave me on the outside
a bit tongue tied, a bit tongue tied.
You lie besides me deep in sleep.
Moonlight beams light up your face.
I stare at the dark contours of your face,
your lips slightly apart, breathing softly in sleep.
I whisper in your ear, softly, kindly, sweetly:
I love you dear, you know not how much.
You stir, you sigh, and softly say:
repeat again what you've just said.
What can I do but comply
I love you dear, you know not how much.
But why is it that I am unable
to utter such endearment when you're awake?
What kind of beast am I?
Your sleepy eyes flutter wide awake,
you breathe slowly down my neck,
lips meet, arms entwine, and we become one.
Say it again you fool, I tell myself, say it again.
But I am tongue tied, mute like a broken violin.
I kiss, I hug, I love but speak not.
Indeed, what kind of beast am I?
Sultry scents saturate spring's splendid scene,
forsythia mists, flavored freshness careen.
Lover's lilac blooms boom youthful as green.
Lattice lace drapery veils Anne the Queen.
Hyacinth's honey sweetness sifts so serene.
Sky's cyan ceiling is swept and polished clean.
Wire fence winding ivy privacy screen
opens to garden secrets once unseen.
Expansive as a planted magic bean,
grandiose garden greenery grows to glean.
3-18-2021
I have things I want to say,
But lined up in my mind
Are a hopeless football team of words,
Who’ve arrived all anyhow, the fools,
Hung over, bootlaces undone,
With no real idea or notion of the rules
Confusing one another, indifferent,
Just fools, willing to give up the game,
My good words with good intentions,
Facing the empty field, the open goal,
They’re no good at all, although
I plead for help, they’re only wanting
Rest and their bus ride home, but still
I have things I want to say,
And somehow, one year, I will.
Tongue Tied with A Tiki
What I did was to take off my tiny tiki,
And what is left on body was my bikini,
Told by tone,
A party thrown
On an island where men are a Meany.
Jim Horn
So I wanted to say
Something nice
To brighten your day
But my tongue
Got tied from
Your beauty
And all I could say
was hello
tongue-tied mumbling
of an anxious mind
unable to think clearly
unable to speak freely
nervousness overtook
the mind creating varying degrees of
inconsistent interpretations that
clouded my better judgment
causing many indecisive decisions to be made
creating many a foot in month statement to be uttered
this became the way in which i interacted
with you
could not help it
could not stop it
could not control it
it over took my very being
at the time
Tongue Tied
Knots and twists,
Coils upon coils.
What a mess you make of me!
How do you do this magical force
To make me feel so strange
Yet excited: a nauseous excitement:
Reveling in utter bliss.
I want to bask in your emanating presents.
If you give me anymore butterflies,
They’ll escape with a frenzy of giddiness.
Keep making my heart skip a beat—
Just give me a sign you know.
Haiku do to you!
Senryu come over today?
Wear Kimo and Lay?
Ping,Pong,Pang;
Zing,Zong,Zane,
Sink, Shank, Shock,
Out Of Mi Mind,
Crazy, but Out Witted,
By A Double turned, trim
Peeling thought,
I can't make sense, Totally
Lost among that,
Bing,bong,Bang;
Thang, cause another
Straight shooter,
gave it away, but
Only shoots mi disasters,
play ground, Cling, clang,
clung, goes the rock,
inside my brain,
Ding,dong,Dang;
I'm gone, and stoned,
out of mi Gored,
but Sex Ready,
Cause you,know you,
want some,don't you,
Hahaha,,, can't have none.....
Carma Reed
11-13-12
Written eloquence
exceeds capability
of voiced utterance.
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