Assumptions! Once Reliable Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

With attention to listen,
And kept focused upon...
To perform this,
Like never before.
Can become an unexpected use,
Of the comprehending...
To understand process.
Leaving assumptions,
Once a reliable ingredient...
For gossipers.
An outdated and antiquated,
Priority.
Many are discovering these days,
Not only is listening effective...
But also eliminates,
Opinions given...
To have no need for them.

"I did not say,
What you thought I said.
I said what I meant to be misunderstood."

-I have before me your exact statement.
And I quote it verbatim.-

"Look...
I could care less what I said.
And in my head.
Did you hear that?
Of course not.
Yet you are prepared to quote,
Words I spoke.
Later to change.
But were you here to hear them?
Of course not! "