Inexplicably silent in choir
being unusually quiet
not a word from me was heard
neither spoken nor sung
so as not to cause a riot
when jibes bad vibes at me were slung
and I was asked, 'Cat got your tongue?'
I replied, 'Here's the thing,
really and truly, I cannot sing,
it's been this way for all my years,
whatever it is I appear to hear,
and between my ears to me audibly sits,
tho' quite right there, when on the tongue's tip,
it's not the same music my mouth emits.'
Cat got your tongue? Hey what’s the matter?
Why ain’t you sayin’ what’s there inside?
If I were somebody who didn’t know better,
I’d say you been simplified
Simplified, simplified
There’s forces all around you, son
And they’re tryin’ to stem the tide
Simplified – you been simplified
White versus black, Right versus Left
You must choose one – take only one side
If your own grey matter is a trifle bereft,
I’ll bet you been simplified
Simplified, simplified
There’s forces all around you son
That’re tryin’ to stem the tide
Simplified – you been simplified
Now you been lyin’ down with Nazis and Sheiks
‘cause it sweeps up your guilt and massages your pride
In Bizarro-Land, the reasoned man is the freak
‘cause he won’t be simplified
Simplified, simplified
There’s forces all around you, son
And they’re tryin’ to stem the tide
Simplified – you been simplified
So I don’t turn on the news or go to church no more –
I won’t take that paranoid ride
There’s more to holy wars than virgins and whores –
Don’t let your story be simplified
Don’t let your story be simplified
Don’t let your story be simplified
What was that you said?
I wish you would repeat it.
What, cat got your tongue?
What's transparent and smells like a worm?
Obviously, it's a bird fart that lasts long term
That was a tough one
Cat got your tongue?
Life gets tedious and we act with much concern
I see your bright colored plumes and your cocky arrogant beak
you think you got a trumpet in my ear but oh ,you wait and see
how beautiful the end result will be, once you CLAMP
It is no ones business but my own what I write and re-write in
the name of perfection. Cat got your tongue? Well finally we
got some peace round here, I'm entering IT
Are you expecting those old parrot tapes to enter my heaven?
I'm busy inputting so I I can't hear your hell
so fly away from me bird from Alcatraz cuz I'm not this, OR
That,
I will not listen anymore. REMOVE
that silly grin off your plucky face and give me room to be
the best that I can be. I'm unreeling, re-dealing, getting
ready for the authentic manuscript of the Century. So bird on
you.... Get over YOURSELF
You don't own monopoly to my mind nor my imagination
get going bird, I got it covered so pluck those poisoned feathers
off my back and let me grow wings, that won't harm or attack
leave me in peace to write .
January 14, 2019
CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE--SAY SOMETHING
There once was a cat named Fluffy
And his demeanor was tuffy
Your green eyes to I spy
purr-purr- purring you are
Eye contact and you curl your back
JuMpInG from floor to counter top
Tail waving back and forth
Why? won't you say a word
Something wrong with the poem
Ouch!!! Meow-say something
What's wrong, cat got your tongue!
10/25/18
Written by James Edward Lee Sr.©2018
unwilling to speak
let alone write
I know what I'll do
the blame's not on you...
it's that silly cat, you know
"cat got your tongue", now also your pen?
tell me why
tell me when
"Here kitty....kitty...
bring that back here to me!"
cause your rhymes read out of time
once simply sublime
now crusty and bland
no life in your hand
walking down your poetry lane
heart heavy with pain
ghosts peek a boo
and I wonder, is it true?
there's not a line that is new?
Are you dead or alive?
oh, but I've got my pride,
yet I frantically search
Hoping to find
that feline on the run
well, you know which one
that cat that got your tongue...
and to my abject sorrow of sorrows
that cat's also run away
run far far away
with
your
glorious pen.
Eileen M
If a cat got your tongue
And deer's are chewing gum
Yeah! and when pigs fly
Monkey see monkey do
Why? then do onions make you cry
What you gonna do?
1/17/18
by James Edward Lee Sr.
PLAYING WITH CLICHÉS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
recycle plastics... what goes around comes around
~~
thirty-six twenty-four thirty-six... fit as a fiddle
~~
where there's muck there's money... all that glitters isn't gold
~~
see the facts... use a mirror... don’t get your knickers in a twist
~~
speak out or... has the cat got your tongue...
~~
history... good or bad... only time will tell
~~
true love... every cloud has a silver lining
~~
how times have changed but.. opposites will always attract...
~~
mother nature begs... recycle... don’t cry over spilt milk
~~
who told that lie... all is fair in love and war
~~
don't whisper... speak up or shut up
~~
be in it to win it... a bird in the hand is worth two in a bush
~~
recycle... live long and prosper
~~
at weddings... many a true word spoke in jest... i do...
~~
if only... speak now or forever hold your peace
~~
playing with words... isn't that a cliché...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inspired by Silent One's challenge Monoku #5 cliché
https://www.poetrysoup.com/poetry/contests/monoku_5_cliche_11070#MemberContestDescription
it tried to deep kiss Mary now her lips are hairy
"Cat got your tongue?"
Written under duress 1/5/18
Cliche contest
Hosted by Silent One
Her repartee ~ caught him dumbstruck!
Cliche: Cat got your tongue?
Sponsor: Silent One
Monoku 5 contest
her sudden untimely death left her speechless ~ silence is golden
Cliché: Cat got your tongue?
January 5, 2018
Contest: Monoku 5: Cliché
sponsor: Silent One
Shadow in the Dark
I see you staring at me,
But who are you?
What do you want?
All you do is stand there and watch me,
Are you my guardian angel?
You walk closer to me and you still don’t say anything,
What is it?
The cat got your tongue,
Why you watching me?
Do you know me from somewhere?
I’m too afraid to come to you,
So I’m asking you from a distance,
I notice you look taller than me,
Then I turn another way we are the same height,
Just figuring out you could be me,
You are my shadow in the dark.
Simple Pretense
Shut up!
My God. Can’t you say anything positive?
Can’t you say anything that will sweep this darkness away.
Away from the corneas of my soul?
I know where the light switch is. Do you?
I know where the dog has buried its bone. Do you?
I know what lurks past your knees.
Crazy gravitational forces will have the final word.
Burning breathless whispers at midnight
Will tell of the final spasm.
Of the final heartbreak,
Of the final flat tire,
And of the final kiss.
Here, take this smooth stone.
I found it in the turtle garden with the cacti.
And with the black droppings of reptilian pretense.
Go ahead.
Say something now.
Cat got your tongue?
Never mind.
It’s all been said before.
The mad earth continues to turn like a dumb dog
Chasing its tail before the melting mush is served.
My Boyfriend is, the Cat’s Meow, a Fat Cat.
He stays Busy as a Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, think of that..
He says the way I look is like: “Two Tom Cats in a Gunny Sack”.
It’s Raining Cats and Dogs but we need a snack.
We were Busier Than a Three Legged Cat in a Sand Box,
but I opted to go for Bagels and Locks.
He Was On That Like a Pack of Dogs on a Three Legged Cat.
I kept thinking While the Cat’s Away the Mice Will Play.
When I got back he Looked Like the Cat who Swallowed the Canary,
He was Nervous as a Long Tailed Cat in a Room Full of Rockers.
Well, There’s More Ways to Kill a Cat than Choking it With Butter.
I got him busier than a One Eyed Cat Watching Two Mouse Holes.
Cat Got Your Tongue? I cooly extol.
When he finally Lets the Cat Out of the Bag,
I tell him to take his Alley Cat Morals and Scruples of a Snake,
and Quick as a Cat, vacate, don’t lag.
Take that Cheshire-Cat Smile and Walk His Last Mile.
© Apr 10 2010
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