Ill-intent

You slice, cut, cleave:

a dagger of words

thrust from your lips.

You mirror, mock, taunt:

a shimmer of verses

shatter from your mouth.

You muffle, mute, deaden:

a silence unsaid

shadows your brow.

You wall, fence, feint:

a barricade of sound

bristles pursed pout.

You delude, dupe, fool:

a mirage mumbles

what you excuse.

You cloak, mask, conceal:

a veil of platitudes

glosses your speech.

You flood, drown, drench

a deluge overwhelms

all, even a mind.