Tongue Control



The tongue is such a small part,
Yet it boasts on such great things;
It can show how true your heart,
Pertaining to what one clings.

How great trees are set ablaze,
Kindled by a small fire;
The questions that it can raise,
From a person’s desire.

The tongue’s flame is of darkness,
A world of iniquity;
And filled with unrighteousness,
Has not any purity.

Fire that sets course of life,
That has been started by hell;
Causes others and your strife,
No matter where you may dwell.

For every kind of creature,
Can and has been tamed by man;
But no tongue has a feature,
To tame since the world began.

It is a restless evil,
That’s full of deadly poison;
A curse used by the devil,
Without a rhyme or reason.

But with it we bless the Lord,
Are in the likeness of God;
The tongue must not be ignored,
To tame to honor and laud.

From the same mouth comes blessing,
But also proceeds to curse,
Check what you are addressing,
Before your strife would get worse.

Copyright © 2024 Richard Newton Sherrer

About this poem

Taming the Tongue James 3:5-10

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Written on September 17, 2024

Submitted by richardnsherrer_1 on September 16, 2024

1:07 min read
1

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CDCD XEBE FGFG DHDH IJIJ KXKX LMLM D
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,009
Words 226
Stanzas 9
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 1

Richard Newton Sherrer

 · 1951 · Easton

I was born and raised on a farm in Pennsylvania. It was a small family farm that was handed down through 8 generations of Sherrer men until my father; Newton just could not make a living from it any longer. He thought that I would make a better living away from the farm. So, I decided to join the Air Force in 1969 upon graduating from high school. I gained quite a bit of experience and insight on life while in the service. Even though I was only stationed on the east coast of the US, my Air Force career took me to Germany and Korea. After 20 years wearing of the blue uniform, I decided going in a different direction and found myself becoming very diverse in many different fields. Something still seemed missing to me after being separated from the service for about 10 years. The Air Force was a way of life for me, but really missed life in Korea. I found myself changing careers again. Poetry was an interest of his since my days in high school. With returning to the Lord, I felt motivated to write of my Christian beliefs. I started looking at Bible verses and reflecting on my own personal experiences. The Bible was found to be as true today as to when the various books were written. I could see much of what the Bible is teaching us as valid as every in modern time. It felt only natural to me on using his personal experience based on Bible verses and see much of my own life written in the Scriptures. God inspires me what to write about though. I do not claim to be an expert on God or the Bible. I am just a Christian who has become enlightened to write poetic verses from the Holy Scriptures. more…

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