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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>I1ve Been
Telling Jokes to My Mother<BR><BR><BR><BR>To tell a joke<BR><BR>to my very old
mother,<BR><BR>to tell it well,<BR><BR>I have to hold it<BR><BR>in the telling,
hold it<BR><BR>in the timbre of my voice,<BR><BR>hands, the angle of my
face,<BR><BR>and hers, too,<BR><BR>for she watches just so<BR><BR>as I point to
the signposts.<BR><BR>As she comes around each one.<BR><BR>She gives me small
signals,<BR><BR>so we make the little turns together,<BR><BR>me just
ahead<BR><BR>and her a flicker later.<BR><BR>And if as always,<BR><BR>she falls
a little behind<BR><BR>she knows I will wait for her<BR><BR>making little
circling sounds<BR><BR>to show her the way back.<BR><BR>And I and my mother and
the joke<BR><BR>make a space<BR><BR><BR>Let it unfold,<BR><BR>renew our
promise<BR><BR>in this tenuous embrace<BR><BR>of our breaths just above the
tabletop.<BR><BR>From the center let us evoke laughter<BR><BR>here in the mist
around our eyes.<BR><BR>Let it reach back to us both<BR><BR>now in a moment of
love<BR><BR>until again<BR><BR>she is
gone.<BR><BR><BR>*</FONT><BR><BR><BR>Catalysts for Change<BR>2281F Lakeshore
Blvd W<BR>Toronto, Ontario<BR>M8V1A6<BR>416-259-6215<BR>audreycoward
@bellnet.ca</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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