Oral Judgment

like a toddler makes sense of the world
I put pieces of it in my mouth
random chunks of the cosmos
terrestrial tidbits a morsel of motion
taste texture and bite reveal truths
that refute the most trenchant
conventional wisdom
tongue tooth lip and cheek more reliably
sensible organs than eye ear and nose
less prone to be waylaid misled
by the spoor of unchallenged opinions
chew it up spit it out and move on
all the better equipped for the
self-made conclusions that mark
one’s authentic existence