I don’t speak

for to speak

is to argue

and I have nothing

to defend.

I love life

to explain life

in scientific terms

is to misunderstand it.

I often want to get to know

people

but often

there is nothing there

to get to know.

People are consumed by their culture

eaten

by what they don’t love.

No wonder

they aren’t happy

their power

is poison

rejected

and eaten

again.

I still reach out to people

maybe more than ever

but a dozen

silent barriers

prevent us from talking.

Oh, we might engage in robot talk

“Did you find everything you were looking for?”

“Yes, thanks.”

Or risk, talking about the weather

to be full of sunshine

during an eight-month drip

is not in their forecast

and they look

seven days in advance

All they see is rain

We fit ourselves

into these puzzles

we don’t understand

better to be part of the whole

than a lost piece

without meaning

but the picture we go to

doesn’t fit our vision

being alone

and useless

ordered out

and replaceable

is not the grand idea we wanted.

I provoke

just to hear people say

what they think

and no wonder

they keep silent

or say, memorized lines

“You’re not a nice guy.”

“Oh, I am, I am,” I say.

I play along with their control

to get me

back in

but somehow

they know

I’m out

and once you’ve gone out

there’s no getting back in.

It hurts to be disliked

but I love life

all the more

I’m free

searching where I might go

they’ve replaced me

they don’t need me

Somehow,

being whole

is not being whole.