Today I permitted myself the luxury of not suffering,⁣
which is rarer than it sounds⁣
and harder to sustain than any ambition⁣
I was in transit, which is where I do my best thinking,⁣
watching people hold their phones⁣
the way one holds a small animal⁣
that might escape if not carefully attended to⁣
⁣
I changed the song from Bittersweet Symphony⁣
to Lose Yourself⁣
and noticed I was doing what they were doing⁣
escaping what I cannot name⁣
or preparing for what is coming⁣
the distinction matters less than I pretend⁣
⁣
I observed the crowd with mild superiority⁣
of someone who believes observation is not participation⁣
and then became the crowd⁣
the way one always becomes⁣
what one studies long enough⁣
I removed the earphones⁣
to hear myself think⁣
and immediately regretted it⁣
⁣
The voice that lives below my voice⁣
the one I have never successfully evicted⁣
said, without particular malice:⁣
You judge as if you are pious⁣
You feign wisdom and ⁣
call it observation⁣
You remain steadfast ⁣
in your stubbornness⁣
to do the right thing⁣
while the world moves on⁣
without caring, without looking⁣
So even your quips land in an empty room⁣
So just get off the next station⁣
⁣
I considered arguing⁣
I have considered arguing with this voice⁣
for most of my conscious life⁣
and have never once won⁣
⁣
So I got off the train⁣
Not because I had arrived anywhere⁣
but because the voice was right⁣
and the train was still moving without me⁣
and sometimes the only honest response⁣
to an argument you cannot win⁣
is to simply⁣
change your location⁣
⁣
The city received me⁣
the way it always does ⁣

NaPoWriMo Day 22 prompt – And now for our (optional) prompt! Jaswinder Bolina’s poem “Mood Ring” imagines the speaker as both himself and an interior being (who happens to take the form of a small donkey). It’s quite silly . . . and not silly at the same time. A sort of “serious fun.” Today, we’d like to challenge you to write your own poem in which the speaker is in dialogue with him or herself.