Festering Earwigs (2013 re-write)

Ideas germinate,

Stories permeate,

and gossip infests communal "reality"

before intended victims can conceive of

the need for a defense...

Viral negativity breeds a discontented audience

while Integrity is a beggar made at the Libeler’s banquet. 

Ideas germinate
stories permeate
and gossip infests communal "reality"
before the intended victim can conceive of
the need for a defense...
...