"Poems"

Nobody's Friend

My name is gossip.
I have no respect for justice.
I maim without killing
I break hearts and ruin lives.
I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age.
The more I am quoted, the more I am believed.
I flourish at every level of society.
My victims are helpless.
They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no name and no face.
To track me down is impossible.
The harder you try, the more elusive I become.

I am nobody's friend.
Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same.
I topple governments and wreck marriages.
I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights, heartache and indigestion.
I spawn suspicion and generate grief.
I make innocent people cry into their pillows.
Even my name hisses.
I am called Gossip.
Office gossip, shop gossip, party gossip, telephone gossip
I make headlines and headaches.
Before you repeat a story ask yourself, "Is it true?" "Is it fair?" "Is it necessary?"

From Our Archives, 1995