Let’s call a spade a spade

I don't believe in live and let live

And always avoiding the pejorative.

Words don't mean what they use to mean.

Changes were made to raise self-esteem.

The revisionists with all their smarts

Went and tinkered with the language arts.

So when I buy the Chevy that you owned

It's not a used car, but previously owned.

Don't call her a ho, she's just a sex worker

And her pimp is merely a pleasure broker.

But what would get me truly unhinged

Is calling a crook "ethically challenged."

Daily headlines inspire the poet in Joe Gedan, a retired U.S. magistrate judge who lives in Honolulu. His observations on the news appear on Sundays and Fridays. gedan@hawaii.rr.com