More Than Words

Those words that used to mean so much
more back then,
mean a whole lot less than that now;

Keep on repeating repeating the
words that you borrow and steal,
keep repeating that till
you’ve convinced yourself
that you asked and paid for
every thought stolen
every truth borrowed;
Quote plagiarise paraphrase,
every aphorism saying axiom
allegory parable metaphor analogy;
Warp it into something something
then something else again,
build a tower a babylon of words,
watch them rise and
stadiums echo with adulation
for their orator;

Your words that used to mean so much
more back then,
mean a whole lot less than that now.