Until 'You' Are The One Convinced Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

Rummaging through rumors,
You might pick worthy to gossip...
By those who have dropped them,
And you find yourself out of contol...
Without stopping them to be told.
May have just come from the ones,
Who have been used to keep detoured...
By those who have sold them and already know,
You and others sharing them to expose...
Can not be trusted.
Or considered to keep confidential,
To leave rumored gossip left where heard.

And you...
I have long acknowledged,
As one I would never tell anything personal.
Since you are quick to flap your lips,
With a giving of your opinion...
That is none of your business.

'Your comments to me I find offensive.
We've been friends for years and you know this.'

Say that again.

'You and I have been friends for many years.'

Say that until 'you' are the one convinced,
As to what friendship means to you...
And who else you whisper this nonsense.
And...
You are right.
I have known you for years.
I've also known what I do to keep from your ears.

'I'm appalled.
What do you take me for?
A parrot? '

No.
Not at all.
I think of you more as a mockingbird.