Gossiper

She was called Margaret,
Folks called her Maggy,
Her ears were keen,
She was sensitive,
She was informed,
She was the village gossiper.

Maggy knew all,
She knew what tree would fall,
She knew what calamity would fall,
She knew what rock would roll,
She knew all you wanted her not to know,
Let alone what you told,
She knew it all.

She was a peace maker,
She was an enemy maker too,
She fished for stories from both sides.
She fished gossip,
She made sure she wasn’t the bait,
Because she knew,
The bait never comes out alive.

Her witty tongue,
Was an unbeatable glue to secrets,
They would come pouring out of you,
And leave you with regrets,
After she had carried them away.

She had the face,
That proved,
You had never seen anyone more innocent.

She knew everyone by name,
Even the nicknames,
She knew who had illegitimate kids,
And she knew the true fathers,
Though she knew how to keep it safe.

Maggy was an early riser,
She did her chores with haste,
She knew gossip loses taste,
When the sun rises too high

She always knew who made,
The best breakfast,
The worst lunch,
The heaviest supper,
And who had no lunch at all.

She was also the village messenger.
Her feet were friends to the paths,
Even the village dogs dared not bark,
Lest she forget what she had in mind.

She was a gossiper, yes
And some envied her,
Because no matter how much you avoided her,
You would have the urge to be with her
In order to know what your neighbor
Had up his sleeve.

Yesterday she was found lifeless,
Her body lay helpless by the roadside,
Her face was curious,
Like it was hiding some information,
She was from the Mayor’s house,
She was going to the Councillor’s.

“She was carrying some information”
People said in hushed whispers,
The Mayor’s wife said nothing,
Neither did the Councillor’s,
But people said they knew.

She was gone,
The news of her passing,
Travelled far and wide,
Just like her feet.

The village informer.

Who would quench
What they knew not?
She had been lured into being the bait,
And true,
She came out not alive.
Only two people knew.