Scott Simpson · Poetry
IV. Conversation
The World We Mean · Creativity as Encounter · Singing · IV. Conversation
All poetryThe original line breaks, stanza spacing, and placement are preserved. Long lines scroll horizontally.
Poem segment 1
IV. Conversation
A real conversation
does not move in straight lines.
Two people sit across from each other
holding unfinished thoughts.
One says something careless.
The other hears grief inside it.
A joke opens unexpectedly
into confession.
Someone pauses too long
before answering.
The room changes.
Neither person planned
where the talk would go.
Still, something develops
between them.
A third thing.
Not your idea.
Not mine.
Something made
from response.
Like stepping stones appearing
just ahead of your feet
while crossing a river.
This is creativity too.
Not performance.
Not delivery.
Participation.
Listening closely enough
to notice what the moment
is becoming
before it disappears again.
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