(exit) Poem by Frank Avon

Never say to anyone
what you would not
have repeated
to everyone,

and by anyone
I mean anyone
under the sun,

and by everyone
I mean everyone
who can be undone.

'She cried her eyes out! '
'You hurt their feelings.'
'You must apologize.'

Candor can be
contaminating;
confidentiality
an invitation
to exasperation.
Confidence
is no more
anywhere.

All the world
is not a stage;
it's a bullhorn,
a megaphone,
a public shofar.

Keep your thoughts
to yourself, so
the world has to read
between the lines
of your wrinkled brow,
and never know
what you wonder -
and why.

Silence and
solitude are
the only pillars
to stand upon.
I've said too much
already
to too many,
so it's time for me to go.

(exit)