Have you ever had a thought,
And had it ripped from you
When someone else speaks up
With your idea, your dream,
Your contribution in a conversation?
“So close,” some say,
“how he knows what she
Will say before she does.”
It comes with the years.
It comes with the fears--
Anticipating responses to prevent
Progress in a conversation.
I know, because I’ve listened.
She knows, because she paid attention.
We zig/I zag
And words go unsaid.
Nobody knotces.
But we know. We--
Know.
Years of stories,
Histories,
Exchanged,
Repeated
Time after time.
The days’ routines
Repeated,
Repeated
Day after month
After year, after decade
Until we know--
We know all there is to know--
We think--and so, this shorthand
Of stepping on words,
Trampling sentences
To interject,
Participate in the storytelling.
“And she said--
No, I think she said--
And She did--
Can you believe what he did? It
Blew me away.
But I interject,
And she shakes her head.
