The Cunning Linguist – #dVerse #poetry

labial

Linguistics is a sexy subject
Anyone who would disagree 
Should listen to this:
Labial
Dental
Palatal
Fricative
Labio-velar G
It’s the science of how we speak
So it must have a little to do
With the things that make us tick:
It’s easy you see
It’s all done
With a flick
Of the tongue.
I’m British so I’m afraid 
That’s about as sexy as it’s going to get:
Now I’m off to sink my dentals
Into a chocolate biscuit
Melted sensuously
Into my cup of tea
And after that it’s back to the 
Stiff upper lip
For me!

Written for dVerse Poetics: Erotica as a Literary Genre. Our host, Sanaa Rizvi asked us to ‘write a poem and explore the question: “What is your idea of an erotic poem? What makes it stimulating? In your own words describe the fine line between ribald and just plain classy.”’ Mine is a lighthearted take poking fun at my own reservations about writing erotica.

59 thoughts on “The Cunning Linguist – #dVerse #poetry”

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  1. I am literally swooning right now 🥰🥰 This is such a classy, light-hearted poem! The way you have described the allure of language and the various ways of using it is spot on and impressive. I agree, “It’s the science of how we speak.” Thank you so much for adding your voice to the prompt! ❤️

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  3. Ha, this is awesome. I was a Linguistics major and my husband always loved to make jokes with the phrase “cunning linguist.” So I definitely jive to the groove of your fine poem, Ingrid. :))

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      1. 😃 Actually I am still trying to work out what labio-velar G’s are — that one has me completely stumped!! 🧐🤔🤓💕

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      3. OMG!!! Ahahahaha seriously I love it, I was busy forming the (voiced velar plosive) “G” while rounding my lips and the best pronunciation I could come up with was “go” which seemed a cheat somehow. 😆😆 Thanks for the real good linguistic smiles this morning Ingrid. A real bit of chocolate biscuit for me. Mille fois merci. :)) 😆🙏🤗😍👌

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  13. I adore this, Ingrid! I studied linguistics at university over forty years ago, and the terms labial, dental, palatal, fricative, etc. are so familiar. I agree, linguistics is a sexy subject and, as poets, it speaks to us. I love the ambiguous suggestiveness of ‘It’s all done / With a flick / Of the tongue’ and, sorry to say, I thought ‘Ooh er Missus!’ and the humour appeals to me, another Brit. I’m off to find my diabetic choccie biscuits.

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    1. Thank you Kim! I always skirted round linguistics but I found it fascinating and loved the terminology. I had the idea to write about a love affair where one member was a linguist, but I haven’t got round to that yet so I wrote the poem in the meantime!

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  14. Haha… a great little piece! It made me smile Ingrid. On an unrelated matter, I hope all went well yesterday at the school gate! We had our first day back this morning! After these long months, the girls are so happy to be back! Thor and Caleb skipped one smiling too 🐵🐵

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    1. Thanks Andi – I’m always glad when my writing raises a smile; it isn’t all doom and gloom after all! So pleased your little ones are going back to school happy: so far my eldest seems more keen as the youngest has been used to having his own way for six months! But hopefully they’ll all settle into a routine soon :-)

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  15. This one made me smile. You pick out the erotica in the words and then turn the whole thing into a comedy sketch. Just as hard to do as making the words keep their eroticism when they’re wrapped up in a poem.

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  20. Your title had me in laughing out loud Your poem is a credit to your British propriety and you left us all with a smile. Bravo!

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