Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

TONGUES by DOROTHY ALDIS

First Line: BE SHE BIG OR BE SHE LITTLE
Last Line: IN A WISE OLD CHEEK.
Subject(s): GOSSIP;
Be she big or be she little,
Tongues will wag
(They're hung in the middle),
And her reputation's brittle.

Poor hung tongues!
It seems they must
Wag until
Herself is dust.

I know a tongue
The wiser for
Years and years
Of battledore

And shuttlecock,
Up and down
The peeking streets
Of a certain town.

And that tongue is
Slow to speak --
It stays hidden
In a wise old cheek.



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