This month’s writing prompt was Tongue-Tied. Here we showcase all the responses that were submitted.
Tongue-Tied prompt: What we say when we don’t know how to speak the truth. When we’re shying away from saying what we really feel. Staying silent instead of letting the words escape. When language fails us, how do we communicate?
Time goes on
as language flows with the movements of your skin,
as tell-tales bloom from the seed of memories and imagination,
here we all, becoming storytellers,
in korean, in mandarin, in english, in portuguese,
in vietnamese, in thai, in sign language,
in the shiny glints in the eyes,
in the subtle tilts of the mouth's curves,
we draw pictures from what we know and what we believe,
no matter the structures of the sentences.
do you ever notice
how tenses never miss their place in one's saying?
if humans desire to know time
to imagine where the story sets?
but the honey that pours on your tongue
caressing my ear lobes when the nights hug us
needs no "will", "am" or "was".
"with you", you let the warmth carry the words and take away the time and space wrapping
our fingers,
nothing matters,
because i have known you before everything,
because minutes and hours are lost next to you.
by Anh (@_tath21_ Insta)
I miss you in the evening
I miss you in the evening light,
As the sun slips past the balconies
Where we once walked, I’d talk for hours,
You’d barely say a word.
Instead, you traced freckles near my eyes,
Tongue-tied and tangled deep inside.
You played soft, sweet lullabies
The space between, my darkest nights.
I always thought I’d see you again,
Your fingers tracing quiet pain.
Then for months and months, it rained
Of course, I blamed you.
For all those long, sweet, playful nights,
For briefly turning on the light,
For never staying long enough,
And letting go without a fight.
by Caitlin Scally (@caitlinscally Insta)
Say What I Mean
I cannot fathom,
What my tongue wants to say.
I cannot comprehend,
The words my mouth will play.
Too much in my head,
I cannot speak aloud.
My tongue will be a result of,
Me hiding underground.
I’m too embarrassed,
Because I want to say.
My tongue is tied,
So, I can’t speak up.
I cannot utter anything at all,
I cannot listen to my mouth drawl.
I wonder if I could scream,
Right from the roof tops.
I wonder if my tongue,
I wonder if this will be ceased and stop?
I’m not even shy,
So why does it matter?
I wish my tongue to speak a little louder,
To scream what I mean,
A happily ever after.
by Beth Butler (@eabwriting_)
A Gentle Gesture of Care
The beginning of this summer
fever was my guest
But how could it last when Mother was at home
This time she didn’t curse at him
He thought her tongue-tied
a gentle gesture of care
And he left home
The beginning of this summer
fever was my guest
But how could it last when Mother was at home
by Inner Monologue (@Inner__monologue__)
swim press 