Traductio (tra-duk’-ti-o): Repeating the same word variously throughout a sentence or thought. Some authorities restrict traductio further to mean repeating the same word but with a different meaning (see ploce, antanaclasis, and diaphora), or in a different form (polyptoton). If the repeated word occurs in parallel fashion at the beginnings of phrases or clauses, it becomes anaphora; at the endings of phrases or clauses, epistrophe.
Flavor is the flavor of flavor, whatever it is. 24/7 your tongue is alive, swimming in a sea of taste. Sugar. Spice. Everything nice. Bitter. Sour. Spit it out. Love it. Hate it.
It’s all about my tongue. It is four inches long. I have a compulsion to lick things. I went to the Lingua Institute in Brussels. They fitted me with a tongue condom. It’s based on the idea that shielding the tongue from flavor will kill the desire to lick. It worked for about a week. I got tired of wearing a tongue condom whenever I went out. Plus, my tongue was calling to me “Lick it, lick it, lick it.”I first tore it off when my tongue zeroed in on a tree in the park I was walking past. My tongue had an uncanny ability to see. It made me stop and it yelled “Lick it!” five or six times. I tried biting my tongue, but the condom protected it. So, I pulled off the condom and licked the tree. The bark was rough. It was a maple tree. I was hugging it and licking it like my life depended on it. The feel of the bark and the taste of the wood were enchanting. My tongue loved it and we licked for about twenty minutes and walked away.
I was so glad I was licking again. It was like being healed. We passed a deli that had a huge glass window. Glass was one of my favorite flavors. My tongue yelled “Lick it!” I faced the glass and started licking, and licking, and licking. I had my eyes closed at first, but then I opened them. The people in deli were all looking at me. One was on their cellphone, so I figured she was calling the cops. It had happened several times, but I’d never been arrested or charged with a crime.
The last time was “apprehended” was for a glass licking incident. I was in PetCo licking the Angel Fish aquarium. The fish seemed to like it. They had clustered around my tongue on the other side of the glass. I told the police officer I was checking my compatibly with fish before I bought them. He told me to get out of PetCo before he fed me to the pirañas. I put my tongue back in my mouth and quickly left PetCo. My tongue was silent for three days after the incident.
Then we were in an elevator with three or people. I was eyeing the button panel, specifically, the fifth floor button. My tongue yelled “Lick it!” I got down on my knees and started licking the button. The people in the elevator ignored me. I was in NYC at time where nobody notices anything. I was grateful for that. I licked frantically until we reached the third floor and I got off.
I was going to see a surgeon to have one inch removed from my tongue. I told him about my problem. He agreed to the surgery, but insisted I get a licking post after the surgery and keep it in my living room. If I worked out on it for one hour every day, along with the surgery, I would be cured.
I went to purchase a licking post at Tongue Tips. I met woman there who was there for the same reason I was. We were Lickers. I invited her back to my apartment for a lick. We spent the afternoon licking each other. Now, I’m having second thoughts about the surgery. Licking each other quells our desires. I’ll have to talk to the doctor again. I think me and Beth can be each other’s licking posts and I we can skip the surgery. She has a five-inch tongue that reaches all the way to my soul.
Definitions courtesy of “Silva Rhetoricae” (rhetoric.byu.edu.
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