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August 24, 2007 by Betsy Bird

Poetry Friday – The Collected Works of Susan Ramsey

August 24, 2007 by Betsy Bird   1 comments


Lip Service

I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.
Duke Ellington

And oh, it does take energy
and stubbornness, ‘cause if you laugh, you lose.
My cousin warning “You don’t pull in that lip

a little bird is gonna come along
and do something on it.”
The hero of The Thirteen Clocks

stumbling in a dungeon,
in the dark, steps on “ something
made entirely of lip.” Terri says

her husband used to be a better kisser
back when he still played trumpet.
Nora Ephron says that once you’re married

the kissing stops. Nina’s lover
said in awe, “I bet you could smoke
a cigarette with that.” Steve knew.

After she left
he put his lips together
and blew.

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About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

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About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. John Mutford says

    August 25, 2007 at 10:36 am

    Ah, the blurred lines between jazz and blues. Nice piece.

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