Just a Slip of Tongue

A runner plagued 
by endless thirst,
tried all manner of things 
to end the curse. 
A camel bag or bottle 
slowed his pace.
His yen for simple, 
lasting relief, became a race -
Relentless!

Seeing smooth pebbles
in the bed of a stream,
he took a pea-sized one; 
stowing it under his tongue.
His saliva flowed; 
his thirst was gone, up-aweigh!
Until the bump, the trip; 
the slip from tongue -
Breathless!