Member-only story
Take Heed
A poem — Ballade form
Words and decisions spoken and made
That take aback cannot be taken back
They are there in mind to be replayed
Over and over, a stuck record track
Appearing though unwanted through a lack
Of willingness to forgive or forget
Mouldy books left to fester in stacks
Take heed and speak words you won’t regret
Jabs and jibes in time do not fade
Into nothing they linger in air, black
And heavy, thick and stagnant weighed
Down by grudges, ready to attack
Words and decisions that take aback
And bruise and burn and cause upset
Accumulated, stored in heavy sacks
Take heed and speak words you won’t regret
The spoken word can be brash and frayed
Spoken in haste, it sometimes packs
An unwitting punch, a well-played
Knock to the jaw, a well-placed tac
Underfoot, that takes you aback
And causes upset despite the mindset
And slowly yet surely appear the cracks
Take heed and speak words you won’t regret
Speak words as if penned and redact
The unnecessary; reset
And breathe words that don’t take aback
Take heed and speak words you won’t regret
