The Pause Between Words

“Um” and “Um” slip off my tongue.

A cowardly pause that steals my breath away.

I guess some words remain forever unsung.

My sharpened sentences come out unstrung,

A flick that stops the words I try to say:

“Um” and “Um” slip off my tongue.

Upon my tongue, its sticky silence clung,

A word that will not leave, nor seem to stay.

I guess some words remain forever unsung.

Why does it make me sound so annoyingly young?

It begs my mouth to falter, slip astray.

“Um” and “Um” slip off my tongue.

Oh, how I hate the filler that’s among!

Still searching for the words, I try to pray.

I guess some words remain forever unsung.

They twist inside me; they come out wrong,

My thoughts unravel, scattered in decay.

“Um” and “Um” slip off my tongue,

I guess some words remain forever unsung.