A Rumour Is Just That

 

I heard something

From a reliable source,

That meant it was true

Based on the source of course.

We seem to think

That when such we can claim

Our piece of information 

Will veracity attain.

For as long as I can tell

There have been allegations

And you know what?

They lacked substantiation.

Such that the quick to speak

And the eager to spread

Started to broadcast

What that reliable source said.

It ended up in court

And the dependent lacking proof

Had to pay the price

For spreading an untruth.

It might have been true

The source may have been right

But your source also heard

So you lost the fight.

The only news that’s certain

Is what has been proven

And you should be an eyewitness

To what actually happened.

Hearsay information 

Turns into a lawsuit

And your reliable source

Becomes a deaf mute.

When you’re in the dock

He is nowhere to be found

An you end up

Looking like a clown.

You’re also out of pocket

By a considerable amount

And may have to incur a loan

To settle the account.

Even with the media

One has to express great care

For even they can get it wrong,

Of lawsuits they’ve had their share.

They’ve lost some too

And they’ve paid a hefty sum

For concerning the evidence

They had little or none.

So be careful with your news

A rumour is just that

And unless you can prove it

The courts will not find it a fact.

As this election campaign is fought

They’ll be quite a lot of rumour

But before you spread the news

Of its veracity be sure.

At its inevitable end

You may face the courts alone

With no reliable source

To help you chew on that bone.

Stewart Russell © May 2018

“Truth Will Out”

The fool woke up one morning

And decided to have fun

So amok through the community

He decided to run.

He proceeded from the top

It’s the best place to start

And worked himself to the bottom

To the children in the park.

He started with a small lie

To whet their appetite

And he worked and worked it

From morning till night.

The more often they heard it

The more they believed

And the bigger the lie grew

The more gladly they received.

It swelled and it swelled

Until it fill the town

At first there was one carrier

Then they were many around.

Soon the country was overrun

With this one little lie

It swallowed up the truth

Such that few dare defied.

At first it was a minority

Than a majority it became

Until that lie became the truth

And in parliament reigned.

It dominated the courts

And it prevailed in the school

Yes, this lie turned truth

That was started by the fool.

But if that were all

I guess one could understand

But this lie didn’t just grow

It begat more lies in demand.

  

And soon that one small lie

Became many more lies instead

And soon the age long truth

Was felt better off dead.

For few would dare to speak it

That was not intellectual

In the universities and the schools

The lie was beneficial.

The source was soon forgotten

The fool that started it I mean

Remember he was the one

That started that brazen scheme.

At first the many had repelled

The lie in its infancy

But the bigger and wider it grew

They saw its expediency.

They saw how they could gain

In many ways they thought

And hook, line and sinker

Into the lie they bought.

And the fool that started it

Then scorned by all on the compound

Now holds a prominent position

Wherever the law is found.

Sworn to protect the innocent

Having pledged to uphold the just

The fool runs amok in the courtroom

The truth is lost in the fuss.

In concluding this poem I thought

Of a way to end this lie

But it has morphed into so many

That all I could do was sigh.

The fool has conquered this world

With his deceit and brazen lies

And the One that created him

Is the One he still defies.

I recommend we give God thanks

For the truth that still prevails

Amidst the lies the fool did spread

That morning he set his sail.

For “truth will out” Launcelot declared

In the Merchant of Venice play

Though the sea most sailed be that of lies

“Truth will out”; that’s God’s way.

Stewart Russell © 2016