Gypsy
freedom
isolation
narrative poem
austere
I asked a gypsy pal To imitate an old image And speak old wisdom. She drew in her chin, Made her neck and head The top piece of a Nile obelisk and said: Snatch off the gag from thy mouth, child, And be free to keep silence. Tell no man anything for no man listens, Yet hold thy lips ready to speak.
Gypsy - meaning Summary
Silence as Guarded Freedom
A speaker asks a gypsy to assume an ancient pose and speak wisdom. In a striking image—her head made like an obelisk—the gypsy counsels a paradox: remove the gag yet keep silence, tell nobody because people do not listen, but stay poised to speak. The poem explores guarded communication: silence as self-possession, speech as conditional, and the tension between readiness and restraint.
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