Tongue Tied

Two-tongued –
speaking both heart and mind –
complex languages
whose nuances
I’ve never quite mastered,
yet believe myself
to be conversant in.

It’s a constant learning
to nail enunciation –
linguistics a tiresome topic

the mind –
a guttural dialect –
leans towards equation
and absolutes –
hard consonants and long vowels

while heart-speak
rolls off the tongue –
soft, cooing syllables,
elongated tones, and
whimsical passages

I’d happily demonstrate
the extent of my proficiency
but the two tongues
are currently contradictory –
the clamour of their discord
drowning out the peace
requisite for translation.

(A fun piece I originally wrote in 2018. Edited for this version. Image my own)

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VJ

Permission to write, paint, and imagine are the gifts I gave myself when chronic illness hit - a fair exchange: being for doing. Relevance is an attitude. Humour essential.

28 thoughts on “Tongue Tied”

  1. I love that graphic, VJ. And this concept of one language for the mind and one for the heart is intriguing to me. I am studying Spanish right now (trying to keep the old brain from petrifying!) and the nuances of the language evade me. Lovely read.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. This is so true, how the voice of the mind and heart can sometimes butt against each other. Love this stanza:

    “while heart-speak
    rolls off the tongue –
    soft, cooing syllables,
    elongated tones, and
    whimsical passages”

    Liked by 1 person

  11. I love the image and the poem. “the two tongues are currently contradictory” I’m having a hard time deciding who is the narrator here, but I think the mind may be taking over…lol

    Liked by 3 people

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