shibboleth

we whispered like spies
and giggled like schoolgirls
our in-jokes and secrets
of nicknames and nonsense
sibilant shibboleths
incantations of the
singular superstition
in the magic
of me and you
the price of admission
to a clubhouse for two
with a sign outside
an admonition to the rest
"Keep Out"

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OK - I mentioned to a friend that the word "shibboleth" always makes me think of the West Wing episode and so she challenged me to write a poem about that, but I don't want more than one post per day, so here is a bonus West Wing haiku

Refugees in cans
Searching for asylum know
Bartlett's shibboleth