Communication

First and final draft on 9/26/2015 (more of these one-draft poems than I thought!)

If I say little sometimes, it is just that I,
Maybe over-scrupulous and scared as I have come to be—
A lesson learned, perhaps too well, from sympathetic pain and nervousness—

If I say little sometimes, I am trying hard,
Though not half hard enough or maybe not in the right places—
I’m still learning situation, circumstance, and lines between my own self and the selves of others—

If I say little sometimes, far too little, I,
Who say too much too quickly, far too much too easily and often—
How my self-reflection does defend my each delusion with whichever weapon is at hand—

If I say little sometimes, hear me now,
And hold this, best you can, for coming silence:
I would rather say too little of the truth than any falsehood.

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