You Decide

by jr paruolo
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First recorded in Giovanni Torriano's "To go about to fetch bloud out of stones, viz. to attempt what is impossible"
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They say you can't squeeze blood from a stone
But some who have tried –
Swear they heard something snap – a bone
Perhaps – beneath the thick rough skin
Where pressure was applied

Swear they heard a muffled cry
As though they had inflicted pain
On a living thing inside –

Others say they heard nothing
And simply tossed the stone aside