Shh!
I’ve got something to tell you
There’s this thing called gossip
I heard it can cause headaches
End friendships, and destroy careers
But who knows
It may not even be close
To the truth
 
According to my father
 Gossip travels great distances
But starts in someone’s mind
For most instances
 It may be headstrong
But you have the final word
Before anything goes wrong
 
Release it?
It will keep going and going and going
Spreading like the flu in a daycare center
Nothing can be done
Since gossip is invisible
It’s a wandering ghost, haunting its host
Leaving no footprints
But consumes those who stand in its way
The longer it stays out there
The more evasive it becomes
 
A friend once told me a long story
I don’t remember much
Some of it was probably made up
But this is how it went
Gossip first plants its seed in a host
It keeps growing while it makes its way
Through a chain of naive listeners
Along the journey, some people distort the facts
Into about a hundred different variations
Mixing up the names
Like in the telephone game
My math teacher once said
“It’s as simple as adding a lie or subtracting a truth.”
Gossip tarnishes the host’s reputation
Leaves the listeners with a false impression
And before you know it
 It will have grown into an immortal weed
 That no herbicide can kill
 
Now I’d like to leave you with a personal note
Everyone has encountered gossip
We all know it hurts
There are no strings attached
Once it’s free
Who knows when it will stop
——
If ever.
Gossip has the potential to scar an individual’s life
Leaving its imprint in their innocent soul
It’s easy to underestimate
Something you can’t see.
 
Oh yeah, and remember to pass this on.