I have often used the verb "recite" to mean reading from the memory
. But just recently found that the accurate meaning is doing it aloud or in front of an audience:
Cambridge dictionary:
to repeat aloud from memory.
She recited a poem in front of the class.
Oxford Learner's:
[transitive, intransitive] to say a poem, piece of literature, etc. that you have learned, especially to an audience.
So is there another synonymous verb that means just saying/repeating a poem, not aloud and by oneself?
For example:
I was ________ this poem while walking back home.