Words have power
A lover’s whispered promises
A politician’s telepromptered speech
The commands of a boss for his subordinate

Words have value
The ten commandments penned by the Divine
Quilled acts and scenes by Shakespeare
The latest Readers’s Digest

Words have benefit
Subtitles of a foreign film
Nutrition facts on cans of Campbell’s Soup
Multi-lingual manuals

Words have guidelines
Don’t use offensive terms
Don’t talk loudly in the library
Never end a sentence with a preposition

Words have potency
A mother’s midnight lullaby
A bride and groom’s “I do”
Quotable sayings of a leader in crisis

Words have volume
A carefully formed paragraph
A single sentence
Or forty-thousand making a novella

Words have permanence
Ancient manuscripts on papyrus
Bills signed into law
Rules taught to us in childhood

Words have impact
An old joke bringing giggles
A scalding reprimand
The very first “I love you”