A Different Kind of Voice

Jacob

hangs out with

me every week.

We go to the mall

and sit down

and eat some pizza

After, we walk around

the mall admiring

the lights of signs,

murmurs of people

their footsteps echoing

into ripple waves

among us as we

collect ourselves

into our own minds.

And I talk and I talk

as more and more

minutes pass by the clock:

friends and family and classes

and work and even that

jerk who sits behind me in lecture

Jacob listens to it all, never

saying anything back, just

listening, absorbing each

word like dew seeping

into dark, rich soil;

for tomorrow, I know,

he’ll email me his

crafted response

to all my words,

but for right now,

we keep walking.

I finish my talk,

let silence hold

the air and

smile.

#facingmentalhealth