the man talks
and you must
of course
listen
them’s the rules
he lives by
knows no other way
than this
stern style
of dissertation
of so-called chat
no back and forth
no tit for tat
his way
or the highway
his eyes are blank
anticipating
approbation
praise
but not participation
no discussion
it’s how he’s always
operated
in the world
of conversation
you try to coax
to steer
to wheedle
clear a path
kelpie bitch you are
hard at it
herding sheep
trying to keep him
in the loop
of some
exchange
some interface
some mutual
recognition
of the fact
that he has no idea
of how
to play
this ancient game
we call
communication.
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