All day words
run past my tongue
words tumble and fall
and you catch
the wrong ones
and count them back to me
All day I watch
my tongue
for words
that slip down the slope of my
neighborhood
words that separate
me from you
words that you catch
and hold against me
All day I watch for words misshapen
or ben
around my too thick tongue
run-down at the heel words
thin soled words
words that slip
from my tongue
words that tell of mops
and beer
and bent backs
words that shape my world
against a different map
than yours
All day I watch my tongue
for words
---Linda Christensen