Tongue and Heart as One

 

 

“Let your tongue speak

what’s in your heart

and you will speak a language

that’s true to who you are.”

 

The Reverend Orvil Taylor

 

 Void of hypocrisy

And empty of pretension,

If ever there was one

This statement is a truism.

 

Of course, it can be negative

Or positive in display

But who you are will show up

At the end of the day.

 

Often, we do not speak

What’s really on our heart,

Hence, contemplating this truism

Would be a good place to start.

 

Bogged down by fear

And other misapprehensions

We stick to Hollywood acting

Which are only pretentions.

 

Afraid to show ourselves

For who we truly are

Since in everybody’s eyes

We long to be a star.

 

Re our important others

And those on whom we depend,

Speaking what’s in our hearts

Is like jumping off the deep end.

 

Tongue and heart as one

Is a luxury we can Ill afford

Hence, more often than not,

Our talk is seldom above board.

 

Covert or repressed, the norm,

It’s the way to get along

In a world whose forgiveness is short

And where another is always wrong.

 

 

Life is a like a poker game

Where the highest cards are key,

Hence, I need to bluff at least a bit

To cover up the true me.

 

For should I ever let that out

Then the world would come to know

That the game of let’s pretend

Is all that I have to show.

 

It may eventually come out

And then they will know my mess

But until that dismal day

My cards are close to my chest.

 

 

“Let your tongue speak

what’s in your heart

and you will speak a language

that’s true to who you are.”

 

While such a sentiment rings true

It is easier said than done,

It’s not the way we mostly live-

Certainly not where I come from.

 

 

To bear your heart to another

Is like committing emotional suicide,

For if ever that trust is betrayed

You may wish that you had died.

 

We invariably project behavior

Re what we want others to see,

It’s our way to control the tongue

And safeguard both you and me.

 

Stewart Russell © July 2020