i can outdo you in silence
outlast all the others who just couldn’t hold it in
just had to speak it out
before being spoken to
i can outrun you in distraction
stare longer without blinking
into your cat eyes
past your pauses pregnant as pears,
outwit you in your secrets
because it’s all a competition
and i am not competing
so that means i’ve won
it’s just a practice of training the mind
and tuning the fork
and turning the gear
and winding the road like a clock
set to go off
with a word
and it’s a choice like a bomb
to speak it
or not
the weapon that splinters into four directions
like a ninja’s toy
a synapse fractal
click
double click
and i pretend
that i’m not watching images stay still
and tickets tick
tock-tick-tock
unlocks the space on other side
where the body is the doorway and compassion the key
but i’ve locked them inside and can’t get in
while we are rushing
and time is running
out of every last excuse
to keep from incriminating me
through my words.