secret language
there is a secret language we all speak
but pretend not to remember
it’s easier
usually
to just use words
i listen to what you say
not to what you are saying
the present tense contains too much information
so we prefer to live in the past
experiencing conversation like we experience history books
each utterance a dusty old volume
when, if we wanted, we could see straight through to the spine
the beating heart is not like the wagging tongue
it’s more steady, and more quiet
it says far less that means so much more
it says so little we think it says nothing at all
but it says all there is to say