Unstable Cliffs, the sign read. Extreme Danger. Stay Clear.
And I thought of the unstable Cliffs I had known:
The deputy that barked at me when I called in sick,
My cousin’s boyfriend who punched holes in the wall
Whenever he was denied,
And the glue-sniffing Cliff I taught in Year 11 who fell asleep
On the tracks and was run over by a train.
They should have come with warnings too.
John Malone 
Great piece. And so very true.
😊
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thanks Jamie; it took me a while to get this one right 🙂
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You’re welcome! Well it turned out great!
😊 !
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wow! You made me sad. But you are so right. ” They should have come with warnings too.”
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the Cliff I taught was a nice guy, just a little messed up with the glue sniffing; it made me sad when I heard of his death a few years after he left school
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It makes me sad when I think of the glue sniffing guy as a child and then as an adult. When I see mugshots of teens and adults, I think of their childhood. they were kids and babies–innocent, curious, and full of hope and love. It makes me sad to think that such happy babies ended up as serial killers or as drug addicts. I wish we could see the first rotten spot on a healthy apple, before the worm reaches the core. But, we cannot. And this makes me sad.
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I agree. Holden Caulfield in ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ expressed such sentiments memorably. As a teacher I taught the book for many years in Year 11. Cliff ironically would have been exposed to such sentiments. I’m sorry that he did not turn his life around. Have you read that novel? It is still one of my favourites. btw I enjoy having these discussions with you
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The Catcher in the Rye is one of my fav. novels! I am deeply in love with it.
And likewise, John. I love discussing life and books with you.
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the passage in the Natural History Museum is one of the most powerful in all literature for me; and, of course, the passage which explains the title
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