Slander

by David Solway (October 2016)

Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue

                                                                   Psalm 120

Slander is like a missile

that smites from afar.

When it is spoken in Mecca

it kills in New York

and when it is uttered in Damascus

it strikes in Jerusalem.

And slander is like coals of juniper

that smoulder within

even when the fire subsides

and is no longer seen.

Slander is a rocket and a living ember.

It is not detected

until too late

and it never ceases to burn

once it is kindled.

And this is why

he who speaks slander

cannot be forgiven

and he who is versed

in the tongue of deceit

cannot be admitted to the house.

________________________
 

David Solway is a Canadian poet and essayist. His most recent volume of poetry, Installations, appeared in fall 2015 from Signal Editions. A partly autobiographical prose manifesto, Reflections on Music, Poetry & Politics, was released by Shomron Press in spring 2016. A CD of his original songs, Blood Guitar and Other Tales, appeared last summer. Solway’s current projects include work on a second CD with his pianist wife Janice and writing for the major American political sites such as PJ Media, FrontPage Magazine, American Thinker and WorldNetDaily. 

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