Words going off as slow bombs,

smouldering explode growing over days,

words that seemed first so small and

harmless.

Little seeds but they fester and grow

in the womb of the head,

in the mind, in the brain, latch on to pain,

swell then birth

deeds foul or petty.

Havoc-words I call them.

Insidiously inserted inside contentment.

Eloquent, whispering worm-weevils

gnawing at good sense,

ignoring reason and restraint,

failing in their calling,

mauling the man

they're meant to serve.

Words as cancer

brood in the night.

Words as canker,

words as blight