“He urged his people to lift up their hearts and give thanks to the Lord God more by the yearnings of his own heart than by the sound of his voice.”

–Bede regarding Cuthbert

Me and my big mouth.
Ever since my youth
I’ve always been uncouth
making jaws head south.

I need to shut my yap.
I’m so prone to sin
between my nose and my chin
there’s such an awful gap.

Why can’t I think before I speak?
Leaving a trail of pain
with a wordy hurricane.
God, plug this leak!

My verbal protuberance
can bowl over the quiet
whose ears need a diet
From my blabbering exuberance.

Silence builds the pressure.
Will the steam blow the boiler?
If the Spirit is the toiler
my words will be the fresher.

Words reveal my worst. 
Speak to my heart, divine Word.
Afflatus in silence heard
in blessed song will burst.