Word Salad

A scarecrow of a man stands and walks to the podium. He smiles with hollow cheeks and sparkling eyes deep set into his skull.

"I am a man of few words," he says.

As his oration begins, he chews word after word. The more he talks the fuller is face looks. His sunken eyes bulge just enough to notice. Jowls form as he continues his speech. His waist expands. Now his gut appears distended like the swollen belly of a starving man.

The man keeps talking. Buttons popping off his shirt as his body swells. His belt snaps at the back with a leathery whip-crack sound. The seams on his sport coat give away, and the same happens with his trousers--the fabric rips in a long tear.

As the speech gets longer, all of his clothes fall to the floor leaving him naked. His size covers any of the

unseemly bits. The folds of his ever-expanding double chin hide his neck. The man now appears to be a doughy blob that continues to rise. The speech passes the five minute mark. Stretch marks streak the orator's skin as he yammers away. One last word slips into the air, and he explodes. Bits of his internal organs spray the first few rows of people. A polite applause rises from the audience.