WEBVTT

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What I'm going to read
next are some poems

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from Deaf Republic, which
is a story in verse that

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begins with a pregnant
woman and her husband, who

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in a time of
crisis, see soldiers

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who did kill a young, deaf boy.

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And in response to
that murder, they

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see the community stand up
and protest the authorities

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by refusing to hear them, OK?

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Can you follow me?

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All right.

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Deaf Republic, "Gunshot."

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"Gunshot."

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Our country is the stage.

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When soldiers march into
town, public assemblies

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are officially prohibited.

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But today, neighbors
flock to the piano music

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from Sonya and Alfonso's
puppet show in Central Square.

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Some of us have climbed
up into the trees, others

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hide behind benches
and telegraph poles.

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When Petya, the deaf boy
in the front row, sneezes,

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the sergeant puppet
collapses, shrieking.

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He stands up again,
snorts, shakes his fist

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at the laughing audience.

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An army jeep swerves
into the square,

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disgorging its own Sergeant.

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Disperse immediately!

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Disperse immediately!

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the puppet mimics in
a wooden falsetto.

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Everyone freezes except
Petya, who keeps giggling.

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Someone claps a
hand over his mouth.

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The Sergeant turns towards
the boy, raising his finger.

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You!

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You!

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the puppet raises a finger.

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Sonya watches her
puppet, the puppet

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watches the Sergeant, the
Sergeant watches Sonya

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and Alfonso, but
the rest of us watch

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Petya lean back, gather
all the spit in his throat,

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and launch it at the Sergeant.

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The sound we do not hear
lifts the gulls off the water.

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