| Carl Sandburg (18781967). Chicago Poems. 1916. |
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| 146. Gypsy |
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| I ASKED a gypsy pal | |
| To imitate an old image | |
| And speak old wisdom. | |
| She drew in her chin, | |
| Made her neck and head | 5 |
| The top piece of a Nile obelisk | |
| and said: | |
| Snatch off the gag from thy mouth, child, | |
| And be free to keep silence. | |
| Tell no man anything for no man listens, | 10 |
| Yet hold thy lips ready to speak. | |
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