it’s been said that I talk too much
since I was a child
too animated and dramatic
too fast to keep up with

my mouth and mind
always spinning out
yet somehow I can never
arrive on time

when I do
I always expect to be talked over
interrupted and cut off
seldom heard

but when you part your lips and
recite my last words – verbatim
you show me that
you’re listening

and if I don’t have to fight
to be respected and received
for the first time in my life
I am ready to shut the fuck up