Language of the Xylophone

Contributor: Donal Mahoney

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If a man lives
with a woman
long enough
it doesn't matter
what she says.
She can say anything
and she may,
barring chronic
laryngitis.

What matters is
the xylophone she plays
when she says it.
Tones can range
from dulcet to
cacophonous
depending on her goal.

Tones can tell him
if the sun
shines on him at
the moment or if
Hurricane Jane is
swirling toward him
from across the table

so every man
must learn
the language of
the xylophone.
But above all
every man
must never marry
any woman who
plays the tuba.


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Donal Mahoney lives in St. Louis, Missouri.