a literary j urnal
The Penlogue
Locked Mind
Tuong Vy Vo
I vow to be eternally virtual so,
I can mute myself from sputtering nonsense.
Regretting every thoughtless word I uttered,
it never ends well.
A barrier done unto me,
preventing me from hurting others.
I bordered my conscience with four bricked walls,
with only thoughts to resound with me,
talking only about the outcome of my words
if it were ever said.
So in these short texts,
My mind built a prison.
I vow to be eternally virtual so,
I can mute myself from sputtering nonsense.
Regretting every thoughtless word I uttered,
it never ends well.
A barrier done unto me,
preventing me from hurting others.
I bordered my conscience with four bricked walls,
with only thoughts to resound with me,
talking only about the outcome of my words
if it were ever said.
So in these short texts,
My mind built a prison.
Author's note
"This poem draws inspiration from Alec Benjamin's "Mind Is a Prison" and serves as my personal reminder to think before speaking, in order to prevent consequences and regrets in the future. I started writing this after an argument online where I continued to fight for the wrong knowing full well that they were correct. Perhaps it was my own ego that prevented me from acknowledging my fault promptly, but I came to realize that it is still within my power to mend the situation, and thus emerged “Locked mind”: my own reflection in the form of poetry."
