all artists have their muse

whether brush strokes vainly glorify nature’s selfless beauty

or a penciled world depicts a conceited and narcissistic humanity

images and shapes capture attention

photos and drawings rarely offend

 

but words are cheap

 

inflation courses through the academic world’s veins like a disease

our currency is a mere assortment of letters

differing in tone, tongue and translation

our value is rooted in the meaningfulness of our statements

or in the absurdity of our ignorant rants

defending “just” causes though we’re illinformed

wasting what little currency we have left

expending our breath to impart our infinite “wisdom”

on sexual orientation, abortion and world peace issues

 

honor was found in keeping one’s word

the utterances that escape our lips are now hollow

lacking in depth and assurance

one’s word is taken at face value

upper-class vs blue-collar worker

eyewitness accounts of a caucasian male and multi-racial woman

stereotypes dominate the idea of “freedom of speech”

the acceptance of diversity and uniqueness in thought

is condemned to silence

by a mere shut the __"insert here"__ up

 

words are weapons

filled with power and influence

the right words in the right place can start a revolution

the potential ideological upheaval caused by a single phrase

is why religious wars have ravaged our borders for centuries

the struggle for power

is won through the craftiness of one’s words

and the compelling argument of a powerful man

the potency of a statement is embedded within its connotation

interpretations are lost in translation

between the learned and the “educated”

 

who is the judge to hold you accountable for your hateful words

the destruction that seeps from your mouth

mangling souls and wounding spirits out of spite

in a great book, a wise king’s proverb says, “The words of the reckless pierce like swords”

how ironic then that you’d condemn me for my faith and ridicule me for my beliefs

just because you wear a “religious” or “skeptic” tag doesn’t mean

you can show contempt for my lifestyle

I follow the Way the Truth and the Life

I think you misunderstand -

my life amounts to the words that I speak, the actions that follow, and the lifestyle I live

who are you to judge me? only God can judge me

 

my words are filled with power and life

my words are my currency and I intend to spend them wisely

what's the point of wasting my breath

if my words have no impact and fade away

where’s the depth in regurgitating trending words or succumbing to normalcy in speech

 

if speech is power then where is your voice

if words are free then where is your expression of conversational democracy

why present a superficial version of yourself

if your words don’t reflect your inner being and unfiltered emotions

these are my words that reflect the authentic me

why speak with spurious authenticity

imitated articulation is meaningless

but with raw unfiltered words the possibilities are endless