"Ladies and Gentlemen, Children of all Ages. Welcome to the Greatest Show on Earth!"

tongue- tied

Or so you would think

If you only see the outside

For there is a parade

Of sorts for whom

I, alone watch from my insides

A majorette carrying a baton

Leads Noah’s pairs

In a circle around a ring

Maybe, more like a circus

Than a parade

Words now not so easy

I see them but cannot reach

“Think. Think.”

I hear the acrobat sing,

“If I can swing from the rafters

Surely, you can think.

Just words-

for Leo’s sake.”

Monkeys run

hop and climb

but the words

get all jumbled up in my mind

Living, breathing words

tumbling to get out

of the tented corral

cotton without its candy

Wanting nothing more

than to get far, faraway

from the annoying clown

spreading face paint all over town

A spectator

Trying to make sense

Of the reasons why

I am tongue-tied

Where did all those ideas go?

They were here moments ago?

I never could juggle

But I wasn’t slow

Either…

Now I do not speak

For I am afraid

Someone will say,

Hey! Hey You! You are Crazy!

“Who are you to think:

You get to watch the parade;

You get to jump through the ring;

You get to shout, dance and sing!”

Why didn’t you fight

when you saw the end was near?

Why did you allow

insecurities to heighten your fear?

What happened to that girl

you once knew

who could speak her mind

and convince you, too?

Posters plaster

everywhere you look

if you need a dose of

“You Can Do IT!”

Check out face book!

While a reflection -

Still not a mirror

So you can relate

But still have fears

someone will see you

sitting all alone

see the circus circling in your head

Call the doctor, increase your meds

think maybe its time

to do it again

Send you back

to the wired-fenced inn

'Spose just as good a place as any

when you no longer speak

are tongue-tied

and a little crazy…