We were gathered around a large table for the neighborhood potluck. My husband and I are fortunate to live in a community where this is not a rare occurence. On this particular eve, we were celebrating a marriage.  At some point during the meal, our neighbor J stood up and announced, “I’ve got a poem.” And he read that poem from his tall wiry Elvis Costello like frame with animation and emotion. I was sort of embarrassed, a bit amused and definitely intrigued. Days later I followed up with his wife, “Does he read poetry often?” “Oh yes,” she sighed “and he’s serious so I have to stop and listen. There was the time at our daughter’s 16th birthday…” her eyes roll to the back of her head and she relives the teenage embarrassment of the girls gathered for that event.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pernett/ / CC BY 2.0

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