Worn

Nagging.

Worn

Poisonous words, drip

in hot moist globules,

splashing their viscous,

acidic wetness

upon my skin.

They spill in spittle

spattered froth

from a bitter, cutting

tongue,

used like a sabre,

to stab my gut.

They burn relentlessly

into the fibre

of fraught nerve endings;

and like water torture,

the endless  cascade

wears through me,

leaving me suffering

the  pain of many slow

stings.

With each cut

my soul dies a little more

until I am numbed,

lifeless,

loveless,

disheartened

and broken.

08/03/17

Reviews

[Kelly Scheppers]

I have found that it's the reverberation of those words [through time] that play over and over again in our head. Once they are spoken, they never lose their impact. You convey that quite well here, John...

"...lifeless, loveless, disheartened and broken."

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Yes the cumulative effect builds and etches its echoes onto your skin. Many thanks Kelly.

[Lydia Shutter]

Words can wound as badly as knives...and the scars are perhaps deeper. Nagging burns a soul till it is unrecognizable. Powerful poetry, John. Lydi**

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Thank you so much Lydi.

[DIVYA]

Your words brimg out the ugly and repulsive aspect of nagging, so powerfully. I realize how destructive negative words can be, for the soul. Superbly conveyed, John.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Thank you Divya for being a supportive and reliable voice as always.

[DIVYA]

You are welcome John.