Speak Sweetly

When some people open their mouths,
Vinegar falls from their tongues, 
Some spit fire and others
Prefer to have lips sown shut, 
Some have all kinds of peculiar things
Tumbling forth,
Old shoes and dead leaves and a rusty ring

(We call these ones poets)

And some speak in 
Puffs of semi-transparent smoke. 
Some talk in mountainous volumes, 
While only a few's words are worth that size. 

You chew on the petals of flowers, 
Crushing them with your teeth, 
And spit them out mixed in your words. 
They stick to my face and reek
Like the perfume of a funeral. 

But

Underneath the paste of 
Rose and daisy corpses, 
Behind the curtain of their stench,
You hide hornets. 
They live beneath your tongue. 
Suck on their stingers and draw out
The venom. 
Mix it in with your flowery guise. 

I cannot tell if others have a thick hide, 
Or have numbed themselves to the burning, 
But I feel the poison in agonizing clarity
As it rips through my flesh. 
Your toxins may have blinded some, 
And they cannot think straightly
Amidst the floral stench dominating their senses,

But your poison melts me to the bone, 
And good luck getting to the marrow,
Where soul resides and courage is bred, 
Good luck breathing through
All of those petals that will choke you, 
Good luck piercing an armor of apathy. 

Rip through the silk all you want,
But bring bandages for when
You cut yourself on the steel. 

Exhale flames and pound on your chest. 
Fling venom in my eyes,
I'll fight through the anguish. 
I'd rather die the last one standing
Than surrender myself to a queen who sits
On a throne of illusions and 
Things she has stolen. 

Author's Note

We've all got enemies. Leave any and all criticism. :)

Reviews

[R Smith]

well you certainly got that one off your chest, bet you feel better now and i know that feeling, an excellent tirade against those who conspire to hurt and bring you down, well said :)

[Falling Leaf.]

Feels much better to have it off my chest, yes, thank you. :)

[Elie Marie]

Some have all kinds of peculiar things
Tumbling forth,
Old shoes and dead leaves and a rusty ring

(We call these ones poets)

love love love these lines. great poem.

[Falling Leaf.]

Thank you so very much. :)

[Einstein Noodle]

oh my my my my ... at 66 just yesterday :) i am so glad to not know nothing!!! ;) this is over and under my ken .. but this poem is successful dear Leaf .. for me .... the blood is draining from my top knot :}

wow! wish we all well .. :(

E.

[Falling Leaf.]

Dear E, thank you for the thoughts :)

[MomzillaNC]

This is a very angry write. We all have experience of someone like that in our lives. They are all condemnation and condescension, leaving you feeling guilty and inferior, just so they can feel self-important. It's hard to keep standing against that, especially as we always seem to convince ourselves we're the only ones who see it and experiences it. It's a funny turn in humans to think that no one else could ever have suffered as we do -- especially when there's a great deal of comfort in knowing there is someone out there who understands and shares our pain. And, yet, we keep standing up and railing against the injustices of the world.

I often wonder, if we could remember all the above, maybe more of our energies would be spent coming together and creating peace, rather than finding new ways to torment and be tormented.

[Falling Leaf.]

Anger is indeed not productive... Ah, well. I'm too human to live without it.

[MomzillaNC]

As are we all…

[Jerome F Knox III pseud..]

This was amazing and vivid. You didn't care about dead leaves, roses and daisy corpses petals being chewed and chopped....you spared no one with you wrath of truth and the ending was brilliant.

[Falling Leaf.]

Rico, thank you. :)

[ZDMusgrove]

An absolutely extraordinary piece if I say so myself. It has an excellent flow. The anger and passion of the piece flowed amazingly like the perfect wine. Keep up the good work! I am looking forward to reading more of your work.

[Falling Leaf.]

Thank you very much. x

[dan]

The recurring themes of petals, venomous toxins, hornets and disguise all meet somewhere in the middle of this piece and form an unholy alliance that carries through to the excellent ending. I really admire your facility with imagery and impact words that gives you a distinct and unique style of your own. I haven't read a single one of your poems that doesn't resonate with this style, the pageantry of your imagination. take care...dan

[Falling Leaf.]

Dan, thank you very much. :)

[Cool Girl]

I love this so much! It was incredibly well written:)

[Falling Leaf.]

Thank you!

[Cool Girl]

You're welcome! :)

[Chris]

new accounts and no histories and vitriol - there ARE IP addy trackers free for the downloading and once added you KNOW who the visitor is. Just saying...

as for the thoughts - strongly defined characterization but I'm not really a drama critique.

[Falling Leaf.]

Chris, unfortunately this is not an electronic foe. Thanks for reading. :)

[Chris]

Ouch...I have to wish you the best then

[W R Stowe]

This almost seems as if you were really ticked off at someone in particular.Your correct that people are often spewing poison from out their mouths.Try to look at it like this if they talk about you then they are leaving someone else alone.Check out a poem I wrote "You Talk To Much" may give you some ides Good write thanks for sharing,God bless

[Falling Leaf.]

I was ticked off at someone indeed. I will definitely stop by and take a look. Cheers. :)

[W R Stowe]

Sorry that was they talk to much hope you calmed down since God bless