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.
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