Am I Receiving Me?

I like to talk, I also like quiet. On my own
I talk to myself because thinking aloud is easy.

I will speak as I breathe, particularly after
I have had the open conversations with others
where I did not say what I thought at the time;
it was not apt, or a could not get the idea in edgeways.
.
I try to listen in conversation,
and imagine I am being listened to.
But how my hearing tires when I try to listen
and I know the person I am listening  to
is simply not listening to themselves.

They are not weighing their words
or putting forward ideas, just downloading.

My heart picks up
when I feel the empathy from the other side
-whether it resides in speech or music.
Or best of all in a mutual and deep silence.