WordyWise

“It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid
to say and then don't say it.”  —Sam Levenson

let your mind sift every thought
before your tongue engages it.
may your judgments come to naught,
that rule not for man’s benefit.

let your tongue taste every word
before your lips accommodate
and give form, sane or absurd,
to that which flies your open gate.

let your lips shape well your terms
before your breath disperses them;
by the test of love, confirm
whether to selvage or to hem.

let your breath be void of foul
fabrics loomed stout to sicken death:
eloquence, where fools oft prowl,
breaks with life’s baser shibboleth.

let your counsel be your creed;
where wisdom sleeps, mark well his bed,
while the daylight swells your seed
to save you from the ruthless dead.

© Copyright 2020 December 22
by Clyve A. Bowen♫