09 July 2011

Full Metal Jacket Heart

Be careful before you open a six-gun mouth
to pull the trigger with words ballistic
or spray the room with linguistic pellets
without a choke, at the speed of sound
because high-velocity physics is a tricky thing
for anyone to control, anger and scorn hard cases
that may not strike at calculated angles, instead,
a beating heart abused by blowback and ricochet

4 comments:

  1. I really like this. Words as bullets...that they are...or can be.

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  2. Words can be very ballistic.

    ("There is life and death in the tongue."

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  3. words can be so hurtful - it's good to chew on them a bit before sharing sometimes.. love the labels :)

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  4. I might say, "A beating heart shredded by blowback and ricochet." It's more visual than the word 'abused.' Let's play with words...what would a soft fleshy thing look like if hit by a stray bullet or ricochet?

    I love the poem and the metaphor works well. I think especially with children, adults often forget the damaging power of careless words spoken.

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"Let your laws come undone
Don't suffer your crimes
Let the love in your heart take control..."


-'The Hair Song', by Black Mountain

Tell me what is in your heart...