From the book published in 2021, And Don’t Come Back.
Pause
An idea what to do
no I don’t have one
I told her
folding my arms
my left hand
pinching the crook of my right elbow
I do that when I’m nervous
or cornered. I do not know
I said
speaking to my wavery reflection
in the polished tabletop
instead of to my wavery reflection
in her polished face.
instead of her polished face.
Can you imagine she said
and I told her
I do not know
– the rain striking at the window
mutes my last word
I don’t think she hears it –
how
7/23/20
Claudia McGill Writes Poetry, Did You Know That? 
She forgot the listening part of asking a question. (K)
Yes. A very common problem. I recognize it in myself and try to fight it. I guess it’s the human impulse to be self-centered that is so powerful and hard to fight.
Sadly, we all have it.
I think you convey the internal struggle really effectively in this poem. It is important that we learn to communicate with ourselves better too and that listening is an important component of that.
Thank you. Yes, listening seems to be so hard, whether to our own internal voices or what others say, and I wonder why that is so.
This is so sad in so many ways – the not knowing, not listening, not communicating, and still the rain falls and words fall never reaching those who need to hear…..
Sometimes I think about all the missed opportunities in this world to connect and how really difficult it is to make connections, and I wonder why things are that way.