A free-verse poem about how powerful words can be.

Whether spoken or written,
words can possess remarkable power,
power to evoke strong emotions,
to elicit anger, to incite violence,
to overheat patriotism, even to lead
to war, to humans sacrificing their lives
to the effort of killing perceived enemies.

Whether spoken or written,
words can possess remarkable power,
power to evoke gentle emotions,
to promote love and kindness,
to create in Mankind the desire
to do good works, to help others
in times of their greatest troubles.

Whether spoken or written,
words can possess remarkable power,
power to give Mankind beliefs
by which to live their lives and
principles by which to govern
their societies, power to convey
ideas that touch Mankind deep within
his heart, mind, and soul for all time.

Amongst all the multitude of humans
who have lived upon this earth,
only a relative few have possessed
this remarkable power in their words
to shape the minds of other Men
in order to change the course of history
for better or worse.

Whereas the words of most of Mankind
are like smoke in the wind, the words
of these select few are like mountains
of granite that stand for centuries,
even for millennia, thereby making
Men who were purveyors of such words
remembered long past their time
spent treading upon the earth.
Thus was the power of their words.

What writer among us has not
secretly envied those Men who
once held within their grasp the ability
to wield their words with such power?