I met a prattling woman
From her mouth, the words kept a-comin’
Critical talk-talk-talk-talk
Like a hen: bawk-bawk-BAWK
’til I finally exploded and said,
“You realize, don’t you, that you aren’t the only person in this room,
or this organization,
this town,
this country,
or this world,
right?
You need to stop talking.
Stop talking.
Listen.
Take a breath.
Other people have thoughts and feelings.
They may be different than yours but they are just as valid.
The biggest problem right now in this country isn’t
transgender troops or
government waste or
Venezuelan gangs.
It’s that people don’t listen.
They don’t.
They talk over people.
They mock.
They belittle.
They shut down conversations.
They think everything is about them.
Please stop.”
Actually I didn’t say that. But I woke up in the middle of the night wishing I had.
This is my response to this week’s W3 prompt: write an Almost Poem, a poem that’s almost something, but not quite.
Actually, I’m not sure how almost this is. It’s based on my day yesterday. Or a snippet of it.
Congrats to Jaideep, this week’s Poet of the Week. I HIGHLY recommend reading his poem You, Me and the Catastrophe of Love. It’s amazing!
Hot Dogs and Marmalade 
An amiable rant.
This is often what we would like to say.
I often think this! A perfect poem to hand around. We all need to listen.🩷
Nice. Sentiments all around from the smart people of the world
Sally, the almost-limerick setup makes the shift to raw honesty even more powerful—like the words you didn’t say still demand to be heard!
Much love,
David
Oh my, how many times have we all wanted to shout this?!?!?! Great expression
You used the almost-limerick setup well, and it allows the explosion to feel powerful. Great stuff, Sally!
You took the words right out of my mouth!
Sally I have to agree with your sentiment. People are almost listening and almost hearing what others say as well as themselves!
Dont worry, you will get a chance to say this yet. Might want to run off a few copies and keep them in your pocket so you can hand them out in future.
So good! We’ve all been there.
Sally, this one caught me off guard in the best way. The build-up to an explosion of unspoken frustration felt so real, and the meta-twist at the end was brilliant.
hi, Sally 😁
Just wanna let you know that this week’s W3, hosted for the very first time by our delightful Anupama, is now live:
Enjoy❣️
Much love,
David
hi, Sally 😀
Just wanna let you know that this week’s W3, hosted by our beloved Lesley Scoble, is now live:
Enjoy❣️
Much love,
David