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Shoulders
By John Perrault

The slope of a shoulder
says loads about a man

what he’s been lugging around
and for how long

whether he’s strong enough
to lift one more sack of sand 

and smart enough
to leave it as it falls

when a seam splits
spilling the truth for his effort.

 The boss might call him in
to have a chat

to see if what he saw
will have its way with him

 if he’s walking off the job
or if he’s going to talk.

No matter his response
it’s the shoulders give away the fact

he’s had enough of this—
you can dock him if you want—

the shoulders and the back
and the hands jammed down his pockets.

                                                                                             copyright 2002, John Perrault

 

(first published in the August 2002 issue of Red River Review, redriverreview.com;
reprinted in the The New-Hampshire Gazette, April 25, 2003)

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