Two Questions.

I was asked two questions today
By an old man with a scruffy beard.
"Why do you write words?" He asked.
And the wrinkles around his eyes smiled.

"I write words because they are more than words."
I said. My polished writer's answer.
"Words are more than just ink on a page, or letters lined up in rows.
They are representatives of ideas, Ambassadors of emotions."

"Words are powerful. They can lift someone's heart,
Or break it into a dozen pieces.
Words communicate thoughts and feelings,
And carry on their backs humanity."

The old man rubbed his scruffy beard.
"If words are so powerful,
Why aren't we more careful with them?"
I had no polished answer. And the wrinkles around his eyes smiled.