Words

Words can be so powerful
But we rarely stop to think
About their repercussions
As we take our turn to speak.
We utter them unthinkingly,
Thoughts tumble unabounded,
A thoughtless word or two can mean
A problem gets compounded.
A paranoia grows in size,
Fed by words mis-spoken.
Self-esteem takes a nose dive
In response to silence broken.
We never know how others feel
About the words we say,
And often underestimate
The leading role they play
In feeding others’ misery
And fuelling their hurt
Because the listener hides it well,
Those feelings stay covert.
So we bound around quite merrily
Launching painful word grenades,
Oblivious to what we’ve done,
The price that will be paid.
By someone in a place that hurts
Where words are not their friend.
And if we get it really wrong,
Our words mean friendship ends.