We have gotten very good
At talking
For the sake of talking.

And I worry that it is more important
To have an opinion
Than it is to be right, or wrong.

Today, there are so many voices
Going all at once
So I wonder who is listening.

I wonder how many times
We say something
Just to silence, somebody else.

Just to illuminate a part of us that we believe in
Because we believe we are right
Even if we haven’t taken the time to understand
How we could be wrong.

Today, there are so many conversations we need to have
But I worry we do not know how to discuss
The things that are most important to discuss.

Because we are so quick to judge
So quick to believe that we are right
And that they – they are wrong.

And I get it –
It is hard to listen to something you don’t believe in
But it is necessary – it is so necessary.

It is necessary to listen
With the intent to understand
Rather than our habit of listening
With the intent to answer.