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Poetry: Difficult people

by Linda Ann Nickerson

The Bird

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Across the table, shadows fell,

As he began his show and tell.

A single motion, barely there,

And yet, somehow it changed the air.

.

Perhaps my mem'ry lost its wings.

It overflows with countless things.

Still, I could swear I saw a sign

Intended to abuse, malign.

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A flashing origami bird

May flip an undesired word.

The key to misconstruing him

Is offering a synonym.

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No bird of paradise is he,

For Heaven trumps obscenity.

And words or gestures disappear

Against eternity's frontier.

.

A confrontation may be due,

Or we could overlook what's true.

But this bird itches just to squawk.

Who cares, if people start to talk?

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