People show you who they are
She would mutter
Inbetween schmoozing, a glass
Artfully draped in one hand but the level
Of the liquid never changing.
I never wondered if anyone else
Heard the shake of a quack
Behind her husky voice
Pitched as low as the cut of her dress.
I should have.
How much was written down
In the bend of her hip
The swish of her step
The nefandous papers
Traced through with thoughtless terse typos?
We learn to trust from a young age
Because we are expected to
Because there is no other choice
Because the world is cruel
Because only the rich get words.
I shouldn’t have.
Anatine (adjective)
Resembling a duck
Dictionary.com
Schmooze (verb)
Warmly chat with someone often in order to gain favor, business, or connections
Merriam-Webster
Nefandous (adjective)
Not to be spoken of, unmentionable; abominable, atrocious
Oxford English Dictionary
Used in a Poem 