1. Apples

2. Oranges

3. Protesters

4. Rioters/Looters

There is a fruit bowl on my counter where apples and oranges sit in a fruit bowl. Besides being fruit and in the same bowl, that is where their similarities end.

There is a protest downtown where attendees legally, peacefully express their first amendment rights. At that same protest, rioters and looters arrive breaking the law. Besides both groups being people and on the same street that is where their similarities end.

Protestor, noun: A person who publicly legally demonstrates strong objection to something

Rioter, noun: A violently public disorderly unlawful person

I killed my love today, with words

Rashly cast and keenly scored;

Rage succeeded self-control,

Spitting barbs of vitriol

And whetted edge its mark re-found,

Remembering a former wound

Though pen triumphs the biting sword,

Sharper still’s the daggered word;

And fury of the tongue could be

Murder of a first degree.

words are air,

manipulated wisps

of oxygen

that wreak havoc

on ear drums.

words are ink,

smeared precisely,

exact and vague

all at once.

words are swords,

double edged

and sharpened

to the point

that just the

suggestion

of contact

draws blood.

words are change.

persuasion,

a distortion

of the universe,

of all the opinions

that holds it

together.

words are the soul,

emerging from lips,

slipping out through

cracks in the mind.

words are a reflection.

a disturbance.

a trigger.

everything.

broken bones

are warm hugs

in comparison to

a splintered spirit

wrathful words

do far greater

damage than one

might suspect

↫ Life has never been an easy walk ↬

.

.

.

To sum it up, life is like a cake walk

⊹ Just...full of challenges ⊹

And every single day I make it through this game

▉▅▃▁It hurts▁▃▅▉

_______________

Everything here either wants to hurt you

Or

⥉ kill ⥉

you

And they usually come at you with words

<><><><><><><><>

They get in trouble if they kill you

⤜So they make you kill yourself⥽

*

⁎ ⋆ ⁎ ✶

✶ ⋆ How wrong ⋆ ✶

⋆ ⁎ ✶ ⋆

*

They throw words at you

And then you

↡

end

↡

your

↡

story

⊱And they get away with it⊸

{}{}{}}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

⋰ You get so used to being hurt ⋱

That you start to do it to yourself

⋘ You believe their lies ⋙

≎ Words are kinda like knives for your head ≎

Each one brings more damage

So yeah, life is hard because of these opinions

Everything here will try to kill you

E

V

E

N

︽

︽

︽

《《《 Yourself 》》》

︾

︾

︾

Whoever said

“Sticks and stones

may break my bones,

but words will never hurt me”

did not know the power of

a well-timed verbal barb.

Many a sting I’ve endured

from sharp sticks and rocks alike.

But never did the pain

pierce so deep

or linger so long

as a vitriolic word.

What is not commonly known

about the nature of the spoken word

is that words hold a tangible substance,

solid as any physical thorn.

Once released into the atmosphere,

words may impart a gift of hurt

in a single cutting remark,

unable to be retracted,

lasting as a wounded heart.

If only we all took some time

to consider the indelible mark

left behind by the words we speak.

Maybe we would wait a moment

before expressing our thoughts,

or simply let a few nasty syllables

fall unspoken by the wayside.

There is a saying that actions speak louder than words, but

if we did not have words, we would not have such a saying.

If we did not have words, we couldn’t communicate.

Have you every very played charades? Acting everything out without words...

or Pictionary... drawing everything without using words...

words have power far greater than actions. They express, the preserve, they inspire.

Don't talk to me.

Four words, lying wait in the inbox for me to find, sending me away, to the depth of the space underneath my bed.

Four words, stuck in my head, making me wonder endlessly about what my heart holds.

Four words that might be making me into a better person.