By Words Condemned by Michael Romani All these playground rhymes Chasing around in uneasy times Too many words are lies And there are no alibis I wish that I was wise But, instead I despise The life I examine now Wishing for good things somehow I wish I could tame my tongue Unkind words spoken since I was young Though I've managed to keep to truth I have been harsh since my youth Word of mine have given away Memories of this linger this New Year's Day Right works with right actions Would bring me far more satisfaction A child falls and skins her knee I hold her close to me These actions coupled with comforting words Makes all things okay though eyes are blurred Oh, if only I would keep this in mind Time after time, I am left behind In the remnant of my alienation and anger To this, I fear I am no sort of stranger Words, it seems, can cut deeper than a knife I've learned this throughout my life Sometimes I fee I'm emotionally bleeding out As one hurt look from removes all doubt God hates the falseness of a liar Hearts unclean can burn like fire There's a darkness in the emptiness Of words twisted when love was missed Foul words can slowly fester When kindness might have better blessed her Depriving those that we love from justice Frozen there deep below the chilling ice Reminders of hurts already deeply felt Bits of crush that has quietly spilt Trash talking flames the fire Often destroying those things we most desire Whose you are indeed defines who you are Who you are, how you will go and just how far Learning that our careless, slandering words scar When we rush into quarrels that end by killing our star That north star of our better and best intentions Destroyed by our verbal jabs of ill founded contentions We learn that even a falsely flattering mouth can destroy Despite our best hopes of those best things we might enjoy Yet, still we know that words can be spoken to encourage Moving us past what comes and might just need courage Our words can have so very much power Building each other up in our darkest hours Learning to grow and nurture and grow on the farm Holds its lessons to keep us from all sorts of harm Offering words of indebtedness and blessings in our prayers We can hope to inspire and keep our hopes still there Given trust can teach one one's sacred place The best lessons learned are often face to face Still, places in the heart can grow thick Sometimes through days and ways that we would not pick These are my thoughts on this New Year's Unseen crushes hiding in my silent tears Words we should never, ever, ever say How I wish that I instead had fallen to my knees to pray Keeping Jesus clear and stationed in our center As a light shining as into the darkness we enter This Christmas season we need to grow and heal And perhaps maybe learn when we best need to be still There and here in this present tense Is the truest of that which we call commonsense As careless words of love are spilled into the dust That is until we finally, fully learn how to trust (c) December 31, 2017 Michael Romani All Rights Reserved