"For Hens Come Home To Roost"

The following poem is a reminder for each of us to be aware of “what” words we use and “how” we use them. They just might come back to haunt us (Matthew 12:34-37; cf. Psalm 32:9; Psalm 39:1; Proverbs 13:3; Proverbs 21:23):

My mother always said to me,
(My training p’raps to boost),
“Beware of slighting words my dear,
For hens come home to roost” (meaning).

Ah! That was many years ago,
But I have since observed,
How folk with slurring tongues have reaped,
The fate that they deserve.

They have been well meaning folk,
Who never even thought,
That to a heart already sad,
An added grieve they brought.

Perhaps they saw a peg-leg man,
And thought it was a joke,
While he, alas went on his way,
And bore his heavy yoke.

“As deaf as any post,” they said,
“Blind as any bat,
As mad as any rabbit is,”
Or unkind words like that.

The road is young, the way is hard,
And youth will have its fling,
Scarce heeding in its joyous flight,
What future will they bring?

But hens come home to roost, my dear,
It always seems to me;
“Tis well to give a little thought,
 On what your fate may be. —Hope Spencer

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets