Words that melt in your mouth like brownies


stick in your teeth like popcorn


coat your throat like milk-fat


are spat out like watermelon seeds

Words that fill up your cheeks like marbles, or





a squirrel’s acorns,


then pop out one by one and roll into the corners of the room


where a curious passer-by might pick one up and,







pocket it.

Words that bounce around your teeth like an air hockey puck


are uncontrollable


once you start the phrase they whiz out like snakes




and you have to finish.

Words that vibrate your throat


turn your trachea into a violin


make your vocal systems warm and buzzy so that





you think you could fly to a beehive.

Little black words that you scatter across a white paper field,
Shiny words that come to life and crawl like beetles,
Sneaky magician words that reach behind your ear

and pull out a truth you thought you already knew.