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This poem is taken from Poetry Nation 4 Number 4, 1975.

Four Poems Reginald Gibbons


THE MARRIAGES OF PEOPLE

I

The marriages of people
are mysterious affairs.
Toad squats in his mud
hole blinking; he refuses to say.
Giant moths arrive late
awkwardly flutter in
and fasten themselves to a wall
watching from above.

Great mice peer through
the stained glass
while down the centre aisle
the snails make the floor shine.


II

It is inside a tree,
or at the bottom of a tiny pond
that the meeting takes place,
...


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