The Sanctum of Sanity

Words

Words, words, words, words,

Used by sages, used by fools,

Used by those who write the rules.

Used to flatter and deceive,

Used to make the poor believe

That heaven is their just reward,

That death upon the victor’s sword,

That butchery in holy wars

Is dying in a noble cause.

Words, words, words, words,

Used to chide and used to praise,

Used to wound and to amaze,

Used to seduce and to persuade,

Used to make the weak afraid,

To mould their minds, and control

The fate of their immortal soul.

To command them, and ensure

Obedience to the rule of law.

Words, words, words, words,

Used by beggars and by kings,

Used to give ideas new wings,

Used to comfort and cajole,

Used to act the tyrant’s role,

So all conform to power’s need

To feed the unremitting greed

Of those contemptuous of the poor,

Forever taking more and more.

Words, words, words, words,

Used by the young and by the old,

Used to fashion and to mould.

Used by warriors and priests,

Used to calm life’s savage beasts

So we can sleep though fearful nights

Dispelling ghosts with words of light

Connecting us with other minds

Where we may make surprising finds.

Words, words, words, words,

Used to condemn and to forgive,

Used to say who dies, and who may live,

Used to teach and used to learn,

Used to say who’ll crash and burn.

Yet, the finest use I know,

Is when words are used to show

We value friends, and that above,

All things on earth, we value love.

© James Rainsford 2012

Note to readers: Posted as my contribution to the first Open Link Night of 2013 at dVerse Poets.

Kind regards and a very happy New Year to all who visit the pub this evening.