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The Collection of Stone

Amaud Jamaul Johnson 

		for William Meredith


the great poet, the dying man
says that he will stand & read

his mouth now a quarry
of words, full of chipped & angled

sound. we gather handfuls
& rush what will not spill

into the pockets of memory
hallie & laurel beside me

somewhere between the beginning
of what will become our lives

& this man, this poet
this life before us of believing

in what words can do
& i ask how will we be loved

who will hold us, wipe our mouths
& help with the lines we've missed

or misread. in the end, who will listen
& help with the collection of stone
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