false

N is for No














No, said the voice on the telephone;
No, was the weary reply from ages away.
No, said the girl at the end of the bed;
No, agreed the man, shaking his head.
No, said the chin as it swayed to and fro,
Visiting one shoulder, then the other.
No, said the child who’d grown so old.
No, said the father, No, said the mother.
No, said the clown, this is not a joke,
As they said no from one to another.
No, said the motorists all in a race.
No, said the rain on an upturned face.
No, said the walker who followed his dog.
The answer is no and remains the same;
It could be Nothing by another name,
Or maybe the end of ceaseless pain.
No, is all that you need to know.
Clear the board, pass the deck,
Clean the slate, go home.