now
i’m not one
to
gossip
and
spread
unfounded rumors
but
just yesterday
while
waiting
for
church to start
i happened
to
overhear
that
one of our
local politicians
had
suffered an
untimely
death
seems
he visited
the wilderness area
he was
so opposed to
and
suffered a
debilitating
injury
honey
that just means
he couldn’t walk
anyway
he called 911
and
they sent out
a couple of paramedics
his exwife
was one of them
well
when they got there
they started in with their
professional questions
name and such
and when
they got to his age
he said
sixty-five
honey
he’s 80
if
he’s a day
well
his dear exwife
said
since this is
federal land
and
protected by
the antiquities act
all
they could do
was to take
his photo
so they did
and
left him there
lord
didn’t it
get cold last night
now
this is just
gossip
so
i shouldn’t be
repeating
it
and
you
surely don’t have
to
listen
if you don’t
want
to
but
as you know
the village tavern’s
the only place
to get
fried breaded shrimp
even
though
the french fries
are as limp
as
willow limbs
it’s
the only
place
within ten miles
so
i decided to stop by
on tuesday
now
i sat
in
the back booth
so
folks wouldn’t
think i was avoiding
my mother-in-law
who’s been
staying
with us
for an eternity
well
just two days
but
that’s not important
it’s just
i didn’t
want folks
to
start talking
since
well you know
small town folks
seem to have
small minds
anyway
the folks
in booth
in front
of mine
we’re saying
that
on
the day
of sister smith’s
funeral
the good pastor
passed away
they say
it was
his wife’s
apple pie
seems
the good pastor
was sharing
more than
apple pie
with
sister smith
so the pastor’s wife
such a lovely woman
who’s always
been kind to me
and
just love things
in pairs
decided to double up
on funerals
but
that’s
just gossip
so
whatever you do
don’t share
it with anyone
but
they are
both
dead
oh my lord what a barge of bombastic words child i ain’t never heard anything like it laying out the sins of others on the altar of shame before god and everybody not one eardrum was spared now it may have been for their own good cause there was the asking for forgiveness but i thought it was just a closing prayer
when does what you say become gossip what’s the line drawn in the sand that separates your factual representation of privately shared information from gossip indeed she said and you only repeated but why
Read Between the Minds 