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"There was No Need to Publish" "There was no need to publish," said my mother, who, all my life, has maintained a steadfast criticism of silence. She now admits she read a book of mine and in this moment of honesty reveals, "There was no need to publish it." What shall I say in reply except, "There was no need to live."? Instead I repay her silence with my own. There was no need to live. There was no need to ache. There was no need to share the anguish, which burned in me and forged the words that leaned like polished swords and axes in a library full of weapons, waiting only for the innocent reader to enter, wield them and slay the remaining hopes a mother held for her son. There was no need to write this poem. There was only a flutter as the wind, passing through the window, ruffled the edge of the curtain and carried this overly sentimental song to a quiet grave. |
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"There was No Need to Publish" David Keffer San Francisco, CA November 5, 2013 |