What the Mouth Knows

Some write for the eye alone,

for ink that settles, still and shown,

where meaning waits in quiet rows

and rests where silent reading goes.

But I have never trusted still,

I listen for a deeper will,

a hidden pulse beneath the line,

a measured breath, a truer time.

Not just the word, but how it leaves,

the way it bends, the way it breathes,

how one sound draws the next in close

or breaks the line it should compose.

There lives a rhythm under speech,

a living beat just out of reach,

I track it like a drummer’s ear,

the slip, the shift, the almost clear.

One syllable can tilt the whole,

too dense, and it will choke the soul,

too light, and it will drift away

without a place to land or stay.

So first I form it in the mouth,

not born of thought, but carried out,

where tongue and teeth and breath align

to strike the line or make it shine.

I test each phrase on breath and bone,

on how it sounds when fully known,

a vowel held a heartbeat more,

a softened edge, a sharpened core.

I do not chase the word alone,

I follow what the voice has shown,

what lingers after it is said,

what hums alive, not lying dead.

And when it’s right, it will not stay

confined to ink upon the page,

it steps beyond, it takes its place,

it lives

in sound

in breath

in space

Reviews

[Randall]

Cruly Grace, I believe what you have done with this writing is to create a blueprint for the rest of us to follow when we write a poem or story.
To test each word and sentence to make sure it's in its right place. So, we can hear the sound of a breathing piece of writing that is alive.

Randall...

[Curly Grace]

Always...Follow the pulse, beloved, Randall. It really never leads astray.

[Chris Shaw]

The meter and rhyme are masterful in this piece. Reading it aloud paid dividends, but what is remembered most about a poem is of course the impact on an emotional level. Your poetry scores well on all accounts Curly.

Chris

[Neville]

Not only aesthetically pleasing but also sounding good in my head too .. Very much enjoyed Curly & ticks all the write boxes my friend .. 😎🌻👍