sometimes, i move things around
in my brain, adding the context
i create to justify, to myself,
why i’m sticking the things where
i’m sticking them

but there is always a note
attached, specifying where 
the thing actually belongs
and i’ve yet to find a way
to delete these notes

and my brain has an audit
feature that finds these
truths and insists they
be moved to the proper place
and i cannot rest
until i’ve have done so

i have a friend who does not
have this audit feature and
seems at total peace
with the quality of her mind,
with no conscience pestering
her thoughts 

and i wonder if my friend
can every feel love or joy
or the pleasure of giving 
to others, but i don’t doubt
she can feel hate, because
i’ve seen it often enough

and so i think there is 
something key in having
a mind that does not rest, 
rather, that questions
and tests and considers
possibilities, that can
both stand and yield,
that can connect
in an honest way
with other minds

i shared this thought
with my friend, who
shared her vacant smile
in return and said
nothing