When I Find Myself Oppressed

my tongue is molasses

and sticks to the roof of my mouth

like flies on rubber cemented paper

 

my tongue is thick

and chokes me when I speak

 

my tongue is red

and burns from where it’s been

bitten silenced held back

 

I should very much like

to cut out this thick, sticky, red tongue

and watch if it wriggles

and see the red hotness

drip from my mouth

 

– Anna Schroeder, 1^st Place in Poetry