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This poem is taken from PN Review 111, Volume 23 Number 1, September - October 1996.

Two Poems Matthew Francis


Poem without Words

An afternoon in early you know
it has birds in it the time of year
they're always writing about things grow
the whatever shines. I'm sitting here
trying to read on the patio
and the thing I mentioned earlier
is on the chimney the flying thing
you notice them about now whistling.

They say it never does the same song
twice or is it that no two ones do
the same one as each other? They sing
in their own languages so they know
which is which. It almost means something.
Evening is coming. Before I go
...


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