Sticks and Stones

As the old playground chant goes:
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me"

It suddenly crossed my mind to revisit this old adage and verify its validity and relevance in my present stage in life.

First and foremost, this chant was designed by children (God knows in which day and age this came about, but I'm pretty sure it's almost as old as the modern English Language we have come to know and love in this present day) as a defensive response to infuriate the offender (the one who utters the insults or profanities). So effective is this statement that sometimes it often renders the offender frustrated and speechless at the impotence of his or her choice of colourful vocabulary. As the level of profanities escalates in volume, so does the response, until ultimately, the offender becomes frustrated enough to leave, or conversely, take up the challenge and does indeed proceed to break your bones with sticks and stones...

However, if this mechanised response in only a purely defensive manouevre to render the offender's words meaningless, does it really mean that "words will never hurt me"?

Recently, I have had someone from my past utter a phrase that really, really surprised me..
She used the "H" word...yes... the word is "HATE"... Now, I find it surprising on 2 different levels. First of all, I don't know what I ever did to deserve such a strong word from her, when all the while I feel that I had been nothing but kind to her. Secondly, it really surprised me how much that single word affected me... I was livid... I was obsessed... I was sad... A multitude of emotions engulfed me, and there I was asking myself why was I so upset?

If sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me is true, then why is it a single word can flay my emotions, leaving me with a thousand miniscule cuts, open and bare for all to see...

The simple truth is this: words are a vehicle in which we pour all our feelings and emotions into...A simple utterance of hate is not just a simple utterance, but is in fact an assault of invisible punches and kicks, more devastating than sticks and stones could ever be. Physical damage may heal with time - bruises may take a few weeks, broken bones may take a few months... But words are crosses we carry with us until the day we die...

If sticks and stones can break my bones, then words will ultimately kill me...