Rumor

It started as a statement quite innocuous
A bored mind with nothing worthwhile to discuss
Concocted a story loosely based on
A conversation that had been eavesdropped upon
Assumptions were many, because what was heard
Was not a full conversation, just a smattering of words
Strung together with an imagination fertile
Those words formed a story that brought a smile
To the face of the next person to whom the beans were spilled
It was amusing, and in the listener it instilled
The desire to share this interesting anecdote
So to a close friend, in a text this person wrote
The details got blurry, and the story changed flavor
Still juicy enough for this recipient to savor
You get my drift- this almost became a chain reaction
The original story had been sacrificed on the altar of oblivion
Pretty soon a new story was in circulation
Believed by many to be authentic in this situation
**
And what happened to the people who had been
Subjects of the original conversation, they were last seen
Hiding their faces, unable to comprehend
How they had been misrepresented, how they were condemned
To bear the brunt of a lie that they could not trace
The origin of, but that now occupied all their space..
**
This is the life cycle of a rumor
Embedded in these words is dark humor
A rumor is like a cannon set loose
It does much more than just amuse..