WEBVTT

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We're really moving
through this now.

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[LAUGHTER]

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"The Truth"-- I
remember asking myself,

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when you call a
poem "The Truth,"

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you're asking for trouble.

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[LAUGHTER]

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"You can hide it
like a signature."

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I actually read this poem
in my hometown of Rochester

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at the U of R. And a professor
in the law department

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told me that he taught
the poem in his class

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and asked me if I could
guess what the class was.

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And I said, I don't
know, misdemeanors?

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What?

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[LAUGHTER]

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And he said it was
an ethics class.

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He taught the lawyers that he
wanted them to think about--

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I was-- what did I
think about that?

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I had no idea what
to think about it.

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It took about another year
to figure out what he meant.

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"The Truth"

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"You can hide it like
a gesture, like you

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can hide it like a
signature or a birthmark.

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But it's always there in the
greasy light of your dreams,

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the knots your body
makes at night,

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the sad innuendos of your eyes,
whispering insidious asides

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in every room you
cannot remain inside.

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It's there in the unquiet
ideas that drag and plead,

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one lonely argument at a time.

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And those who own a little
are contrite and fearful

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of those who own too much.

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But owning none
takes up your life.

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It cannot be replaced
with a house or car,

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a husband or wife, but
can be ignored, denied,

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and betrayed until the last
day, when you pass yourself

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on the street and recognize the
agreeable life you were afraid

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to lead and turn away."

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