My jaw is locked:
Teeth clenched,
Grinding their warning
To stay shut up.
Tongue pushing,
Attempting freedom
It moves the odd tooth:
I make it push them back.
My jaw is locked:
A presse of soft flesh
Once existed,
Now lemon lips are squeezed of juice,
Thin and sucked inward,
Hiding deep layers
Of feeling….. voice…..
Opinion.
My jaw is locked:
Held closed with memories
Of hurt and humiliation -
Hinges of resentment
Keep it snapped shut;
Fear is the glue that binds;
Shame sits in my chin
Like a Victorian child.
I know my jaw is locked:
It kept me safe once
Or a thousand times
In distant lands.
Now this witness
Protection hinders
The creative truth of
Who I am.
I know my jaw is locked:
I open it wide,
Feel the creaks of disuse,
Unoiled crunches
Snapping in my ears,
The flicking of
An uncertain tongue
Which does not know.
I know when my jaw is locked
I am somewhere
Other than here,
Mind leaping over reality
With quick nervous jumps
To find greener grass
And knock the troll
From his bridge.
When my jaw is soft
Whole worlds open up,
Full of tender fervour,
Gentle passion,
Slow dances of love.
As I part innocent lips,
The heart of my longing
Emerges.
