by Kayla Jeswald

Dripping ink, my tongue speaks the words
You wouldn’t dare consider.
My words flow like silk, while yours remain
Paralyzed by your own incompetence.

My words linger privately, they can be erased
With a simple change of mind, while yours are
Etched in the ink of permanent regret.
At least my dirty laundry isn’t hung for everyone to mock.

I tell it like it is, take it or leave it,
Fear does not resonate here, only dignity.
I see the way you envy me, with your puppy dog
Tail between your legs. Grow up, grow a
Pair, for God’s sakes grow somehow.

A prime example of what I don’t want to be,
Your words confuse, sting, or attack in anger.
My words, carefully chosen and morally correct
Have expanded with the horizon. I bet you wish
You could mask your marks just like me.

Waste of time and talent, you contemplate
Your next moves, while I go with my gut.
You’ll never taste success, not that way I have.
Enjoy your gated community, I’ll make sure to
Wave as I saunter down your street.

Power walk all you want, burn your words into
My road, I’m not budging. I’m content in my town
Of muffled silence. I’ll keep my treasures hidden, no
Ideas on display, except for maybe this one,
Shut the hell up already.

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Kayla Jeswald is in her second year of the NEOMFA program specializing in fiction writing. She has had a passion for writing the last 14 years of her life. Not only does she enjoy fiction writing, but she loves to dabble in nonfiction and poetry as well.

“The Struggle Between Words” is a poem Kayla wrote dealing with the battle between our minds and our tongue. It deals with the things we allow to float around in our minds and what we’ll actually let ourselves say.