Other People’s Lives

Jan 31 2012

You can only imagine

other people’s lives.

You think you know your own.

You overhear her on the phone.

One end of a conversation

she will carry on

until too old to care,

and no one cares

to listen.

Electromagnetic waves

propagate out

at the speed of light,

slowly decay

to the end of time.

The banalities, profundities

the news that changes lives,

going out into space

long after she’s died.

You have a rich

inner life.

The critical voice

that’s partially yours.

The endless chatter

that whispers

and roars.

The maddening loop

of constant correction,

like a broken record

again, and again.

The voice of reason

you choose to believe in

to make it make sense.

I speak softly

am rarely paid attention.

The phone rings

and a message is left

implied

unsaid.

Awaiting your call

of triumph, regret.

The crackle of distance

conducted for miles,

the tinny compression of wires.

In a voice

that never lies.