July 22-24, 2019

Try

I try to connect

I really do

I say “Good morning”

and “How are you?”

and ask after your day

and all the other things

but to have a monosyllabic response

and an impassive, deafening silence

(or equally deafening autobiograph)

in return

is heartbreakingly painful

sometimes I just want to scream:

“I’ve got a life too, you know,

and I’d like to talk about it!”

I ask you

I’ll ask anyone

how do you connect with something

that isn’t really there

and has no concern for you

even when it is