So loud each tongue, so empty was each head, / So much they talked, so very little said.

Swollen in head, weak in legs, sharp in tongue but empty in belly.

Swollen in head, weak in legs, sharp in tongue but empty in belly.

With various readings stored his empty skull, / Learn'd without sense, and venerably dull.

The clock talked loud. I threw it away, it scared me what it talked.

She wondered how many hours it had been since she'd talked out loud. If you didn't use your voice, ever, would it eventually shrivel up and dry away? Was there a natural selection involved in not speaking up?