Words to Soothe

Words hurt, soothe, inspire, demean, demand, incite, pacify, teach, romance, pervert, unite, divide. Words be powerful. ~ Inga Muscio

What kind of work do you want your words to do?
Would you ever task your words to hurt? to demean?
Should they ever incite, bite, pervert? Have you needed
to soothe yourself with the salve of attempted indifference?
Have your words or deeds compelled that in others?
Is it better to smooth ruffled feelings or to expose
dark corners of life? Is one or the other always better?
Where does honesty fit in? Is a lie justified
by the hurt someone else feels? Words that heal
are soothing. Niceties  to give a person what they want
do not soothe if the speaker is lying.