the rumor

it's just a rumor.
something through the grape
vine, said once,
then again,
then added onto with
embellishment. part true,
part false.
it has a life all its own,
traveling from ear
to ear, by text, by mail,
by phone. but
by the time it circles back
and reaches you again
it no longer resembles
anything you know. so you
start a new one.