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Writer's pictureTattoo Magazine

(SPRING 2021) My Name Is Not For Your Mouth | Talis Kroehler

Updated: Jan 20, 2022

My name is not for your mouth.

It does not belong there

for every time you use it,

it isn't really mine.


My name is not for your mouth

if you think my mouth is an appetizer

for the next course,

if you think my exposed skin

is an invitation for more,

if you think my taste is for your tongue,

if you plan to tell me who I am,

if you plan to tell others who I am,

if you plan on planning my life for me.


My name is not for your mouth

if all you will do is try to put me in my place,

or try to put yourself in a place above me,

or try to shoot me down and slice me in half

so you can stand a little taller than me.


My name is not for your mouth

to decide what I like and who I like.


There is a story behind me.

A story just as real and intense and painful as your own.

My eyes are not really windows into my soul.

To truly see my soul,

it would take walking through every step of my life right alongside me.

Who I am is not what I look like.

Who you are is not what you look like.

We are so much more than just a glance,

just a word

just a tear

just a smile.

We are a lifetime of sorrows, failure, joy, and triumph.

We are beautiful even in a raw and vulnerable state,

especially in a raw and vulnerable state.


My name is not for your mouth,

as is your name not for mine.


I can't live the life you lived,

but what I can do is be gentle and kind and patient

and listen to the story you are willing to tell me.


Even if you don't fully understand me,

which you probably never will,

if you are willing to try,

if you are willing to take my pain and feel it with me

even for a moment, a moment more than everyone else,

I am willing to feel your pain and try to understand the person you are.


This is when your name is for my mouth

and when mine is for yours.


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