Tongue Taming
Richard Newton Sherrer 1951 (Easton)
The tongue is a small body part,
Yet loves boasting of such great things;
And tends in showing of the true heart,
No matter what consequence brings.
How great a forest set ablaze,
Developing from a small flame;
As the fire spreading it strays,
Just as the tongue that will proclaim.
Because the tongue becomes a fire,
In a world of iniquity;
As it shows the true desire,
That the heart and mind will decree.
For the tongue is causing a stain,
Sets fire to the course of life;
From the signals sent from the brain,
That toils acquired from strife.
For every kind of beast and bird,
Of reptile and sea creature;
Are tamed when a person is heard,
And they would act as the teacher.
But no human can tame the tongue,
Restless evil full of poison;
Out of the mouth what it has flung,
Can cause one to go to prison.
With it we can bless our Lord,
With it we curse our brother;
For many times it is ignored,
What we would say to another.
From the mouth comes blessing and curse,
These things should not be ought so;
If not chastised it becomes worse,
Without discipline causes woe.
A spring pours not sweet and bitter,
Same as water from a fountain;
Although the tongue spews out litter,
Think before speaking for certain.
A fig tree does not bear olives,
A grapevine does not produce figs;
The Lord assures what the plant gives,
The proper fruit grows on the twigs
Copyright © 2021 Richard Newton Sherrer
About this poem
The Power of the Tongue James 3:5-12
Font size:
Written on October 01, 2021
Submitted by richards.77936 on September 30, 2021
Modified on March 23, 2023
- 1:18 min read
- 55 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IEIE JKJK LELE MNMN EKEK OPOP E |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,359 |
Words | 260 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 1 |
Translation
Find a translation for this poem in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Tongue Taming" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/110977/tongue-taming>.
Discuss the poem Tongue Taming with the community...
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In