listen.
Location
people often ask me
"why are you so quiet?"
I laugh softly.
my mind is not a quiet place
I learn more from listening
than anyone has ever learned
from proclamations and empty speeches.
In my own silence I learn
noting the inflection of her voice when she says
"no, I'm fine."
hearing how he never, ever shuts up and all his words are wrong
but no one corrects him.
I'd rather not be one of those people
shouting things they don't know,
making guesses about themselves
and their feelings.
so I perch, still, learning,
while others stumble about.