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Denial

By Leonard Nathan

audioear pictureHear the author read this poem (in RealAudio)

A black umbrella furled
in deepest mourning waits
in the hall, tears
drying on its shoulders.

None of us will claim it
when we depart, swearing
we have another
just like it at home.

Leonard Nathan is the author of several volumes of poems and translations, including Tears of the Old Magician (2003).
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