Ode To The F-Word

Words from a wise man's mouth are gracious,
but a fool is consumed by his own lips. At the beginning his words are folly;
at the end they are wicked madness —
and the fool multiplies words. -Eccl 10:12-14

They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent's;
the poison of vipers is on their lips.
-Ps 140:3

Hello Friends,

What happens when you combine creativity, ranting, and purpose?

Poetry... at least for me, anyway. (laughs)

Last night, I was feeling so tired of hearing curse words at this book factory where I work. So many people there use curse words and other bad words as causally as though they were just breathing in and out. I met one young guy in my department of the factory who used a curse word in literally every other sentence.

What bothers me most about how people say curse words is how they seem to think that it's "cool" to curse, like it makes you sound "tough" or like “one of the boys.” I'm here to say this: Cursing does NOT make you cool. It makes you seem like a beastly, undisciplined person. God's word explicitly says that it is not good to slander, which is to speak malicious words (and that includes more than just curse words, by the way). Spreading these words causes anger, destruction, and discord among brethren. They are not to be used by anyone. Instead, we need to spread nice words, which bring healing.

"Reckless words pierce like a sword ,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing."
-Proverbs 12:18

In light of my experience last night in meeting this young man who cursed a lot, I wrote a poem about one of his "favorite words."

---Ode To The F-Word---

F-word, oh f-word,
How you've made your presence known,
From the lips of those who laugh,
To those who moan and groan.

I hear thee every day at work,
My co-workers treat you like some kind of perk,
As though they're trying to say,
"I'm so cool to be speaking this way."

This fascination with you, I cannot understand.
How the world finds you useful, kinda like a lamp stand
But surely this cannot be so,
Despite the thoughts of some average joes.

For a lamp stand shines light where there is dark,
And all can clearly see the trees from the park,
But you, oh F-word, spread no light,
But anger, discord, and much strife.

I remain,

Your friend,

Aaron Morrison