Midding

I sit and listen

Yes, I am okay

Yes, I am awake

No, I don't care to speak

My anxiety prevents me from doing more

Than sitting and listening

So I observe and learn

They wonder how I know so much

Since I never speak

But I'm always there

Listening and learning

Throughout childhood I sat and listened

To the adults discuss the world and its problems

And so I learned through the osmosis

Of their words entering my ears

And catching onto the fibers of my brain

I still sit and listen

Even today as an adult

They think I should "participate"

But I am happy and content

Where I am

On the edge

Of the crowd

Observing and watching

Everyone and everything

Without having to waste my energy

By opening my mouth

To express the thousands of thoughts

Racing and running through my head

I am content simply being