Tongues

My candle’s flame licks

The entrails of the dark room.

The words candle and flame

Twirl freely in my mind,

And my mouth salivates

On the flame’s delicate curves.

I swirl them around in my throat

Until, like a magician, I pull

The string of linking vowels

And consonants from my mouth,

And place them on the page

Where all tongues reside.