Gypsy

Carl Sandburg

1878 to 1967

Poem Image

I asked a gypsy pal 
To imitate an old image 
And speak old wisdom 
She drew in her chin,
Made her neck and head 
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, 
Yet hold thy lips ready to speak.