Tongue-Tied

By Suha Khan

The feeling of having an ocean of ideas at the tip of your tongue, watching each one disappear once you open your mouth.

Like an ice cube in palm,
On a summer’s day
Gone before my eyes, 
But I saw it
You missed it
I know. 

Speech
Like fog on the window when it’s wiped clean;
It amounts to nothing
Like a shy kitten,
It disappeared around the corner
Is it a roadblock or a car crash?
I wonder all the time.

Like water cupped in my hands
I had it, 
Like clockwork, 
It slipped right through
It’s all bubbling underneath though, 
It was.  
The greatest gems you’d ever witness, 
I promise. 

But when the time comes, 
Watch the weight of my words 
Hardly make a ripple.

Girls Write Now On the Other Side of Everything: The 2023 Anthology

Do you know what it’s like to communicate with your family across a salty ocean’s divide? Do you want the sun and moon to enter your home with stories written in embers? Do you seek voices that will punctuate the darkness? Welcome to the other side of everything. It’s the other side of silence, the other side of childhood, the other side of hate, the other side of indifference, it’s the other side of sides, where the binary breaks down. It’s a new paradigm, a destination, a different perspective, a mindset, a state of openness, the space between the endless folds in your forehead, hopes for tomorrow, and reflections on the past. This anthology of diverse voices is an everything bagel of literary genres and love songs, secrets whispered in the dark of night, conversations held with ancestors under the sea. 

READ ON THE OTHER SIDE

VISIT ANTHOLOGY LIBRARY

Process

I wanted to hone in on a feeling that is difficult to articulate, the troubles of being tongue-tied. There are times when I have so much to share, to give, to address, but nothing, nothing, nothing comes out. I chose to channel this peculiar frustration out through abstract metaphor. This poem allowed me to creatively explore this internal turmoil that many face.