Eat My Words, Bite My Tongue

Best to say nothing at all,

No shot from the hip;

You might say something appalling,

A confidence tripped off the tongue.

Better to keep the mouth zipped,

Your silence preserved.

Go through the night with your lips sealed,

For truth is best served by discretion.

Best to refrain,

Don't excuse or explain,

No, engage that dull brain

Before speaking.

I should have listened, for once, to my own advice,

I should have paid attention.

I was so eager to have my say,

I fell in love with the sound of my own damn voice.

I never thought how offensive the line might seem

If taken out of context.

My best intentions all fall away

And it's no laughing matter,

Now I can't pack that jabberwock back in the box.

No way to take back the hasty phrase,

No chance to unspeak the sentence

That hangs in the air,

Held up by the jaw-dropped silence.

I know you're going to walk away.

Although I make my retraction

It can't be unsaid

And my foot's in my mouth for good.

Clearly I'd eat my words

When all is said and done.

By now you'd think I might have learned

To bite my tongue.