“I don’t know.”
But I am not even so tired of the uncertainty.
I am more scared of my mouth’s shape
when I say those three words
[what a friend once called my perennial state],
and I think they hang ugly, always about to fall.
If it was just the two of us, plus a select few,
maybe it would be simpler. [Or so I say].
I would be more at ease with this cloud
of unknowing, this platform between trains.
[Maybe I would even stop saying between,
and just call it life.] Instead I reduce, reuse, repeat
the same old phrases, with that same old shrug.
All at once, I do not want my throwaway answer
to be the end of it–there is more to say–but then
I am tired of saying “I don’t know.” So maybe,
smiling, I will just say nothing, at least for now.
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today’s string of words is part of the life: unmasked series, in which bloggers have a chance to be [more?] honest in their writing.
Click through to see what other people are sharing.
This resonates with me in such a deep way. Great post. I think a lot of people in our demographic could really relate to those feelings. You actually inspired me to write a “life:unmasked” post of my own, so thanks!
thanks, Alyssa! And I’m glad– it’s a great exercise.
i stumbled onto this post of yours, and i thank you for the comfort of being able to say, “you too?”
I’m glad you stopped by, then. Sometimes the first step is feeling less alone. Thanks for reading!