The Reputation Destroyer Poem by Francis Duggan

She looks out through the window on her neighbour's garden whilst talking to her friend on the phone
And she feels she is without blemish so she can cast the stone
And her stones of course are verbal stones and words are quite hurtful too
And with her words one well might say she has harmed quite a few.

She tells her friend Meg next door is weeding her garden bed today
She is such a silly person and she so old and gray,
She does not recognize me nowadays I really wonder why,
She must be deaf as she doesn't respond when I call to her hi?

Old Meg has turned eighty ten years older than I
And she is not the brightest and she does seem that bit shy,
Her son and daughter call to see her they do not speak to me
Not that unlike their mother or so 'twould seem to be.

The reputation destroyer is old Jenny's nick name
And though she may not know you she will judge you just the same
And almost in every neighbourhood there is one like her or two
And between them on the telephone some damage they can do.

Wisdom always comes with age or so we have been told
Though some do not grow wiser they only do grow old
And of Jenny who is seventy it would be fair to say
That she is not growing wiser with every passing day.