when said aloud

 

"when said aloud"

 

 

I meant to speak plainly. To let the thought go unbuttoned, 

leaned against a kitchen chair, talking about traffic 

or the way light hits the linoleum.

 

But then—I rhymed. 

By accident or reflex or loneliness.

 

It was you that made me do it— 

not out of guilt, but because the sentence curled 

toward music, and I didn’t stop it.

 

You rolled your eyes. I apologised. 

And still the phrases rang like pewter spoons.

 

There’s something in me that keeps folding 

speech into couplets, as if silence 

might forgive it easier when dressed in echo.

 

So no—I wasn’t trying to impress you. 

I was just afraid the truth, unmetered, 

might sound too sharp when said aloud.

 

 

 

 

.

 





Poetry by arquious The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 35 times
Written on 2026-06-27 at 02:31

Tags Rhyme  Freeverse  Style 

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Kee Zealy The PoetBay support member heart!
Isn’t traffic the mist repeated statement for being delayed? If that is the case it makes perfect sense the eye role, when the poetic mind unconsciously rhymed.
2026-06-27


one trick pony The PoetBay support member heart!
I bet Alexander Pope had the same problem.

Kidding aside, this dynamic— the couplets and pewter spoon and the listener, make a compelling, totally unique poem. The last lines were very open-ended, what truth was revealed? That's the writer's secret to keep!
2026-06-27


Melinda K Zarate The PoetBay support member heart!
Powerful!
2026-06-27


mickeko The PoetBay support member heart!
The word can be both hidden and revealed by the meter. In the worst applications it's veiled cowardice, plausible deniability. Sometimes it's the only way something will get expressed, not devious at all.
2026-06-27


Griffonner The PoetBay support member heart!
A mastery of style... and diplomacy also, it seems. Enjoyable read, with that grab in not knowing what was said. Blessings, Allen
2026-06-27