Whether you have a modern can-opener,
perhaps a traditional old style,
maybe a stab or butterfly type,
or even a Swiss Army Knife with a suitable attachment,
or an expensive electric one,
it matters not.
.
However you open the can (or tin)
it is not the method of opening that is important,
but the opening itself.
.
Words, let loose,
upon an unsuspecting poet,
or an audience of one,
are liable to cause all manner of trouble.
By the way, if you open two cans
the trouble could be double –
or even more.
.
Unsure openings of cans around the world
have caused some of the most virulent
outbreaks of indifference that the planet has ever been akin to.
.
That said, words are only dangerous
when in the wrong hands
they are left.
Bereft of care,
they may dare
to speak
to the spineless
and weak
antique.
.
So, be careful
if you have the thought
of releasing the canned goods
into an unrespecting,
(and unsuspecting)
population,
that might not
have the stomach
or the appetite
for words
when set free
(or alight).
Graeme Sandford 