"True or False," John Ciardi



                                    Real emeralds are worth more than synthetics
                                     but the only way to tell one from the other
                                     is to heat them to a stated temperature,
                                     then tap. When it’s done properly
                                     the real one shatters.

                                     I have no emeralds.
                                     I was told this about them by a woman
                                     who said someone had told her. True or false,
                                      I have held my own palmful of bright breakage
                                      from a truth too late. I know the principle.

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