Tag Archives: poem about eavesdropping

Neologism

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Neologism

Once talk at the next table had hushed, I made the observation
that it was likely they were listening to our conversation.  
And though they were both smirking and though their eyes were glistening,
they swore they were not eavesdropping. They were just overlistening!

 

For dVerse Poets Quadrille Challenge: Eavesdrop. (This true story happened to a friend and me in 1981 in a small diner in Cannon Beach, Oregon.) A quadrille is a poem of exactly 44 words.

Witness

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Version 2

Dining Out


When I’m in a public place
talking to friends, face-to-face,
and my secrets I choose to tell
to those I’ve known both long and well;

when I swear them to secrecy,
I need to also remind me
that of two actions I have the choice.
Watch what I say or lower my voice.

What nearby tables say and do,
I’m sometimes silent witness to.
The realization I may lack
is that perhaps they’re listening back!


The prompt word today was “Witness.”