Face Value

I’ve started taking things
at face value
I’ve stopped
reading between the lines
stopped studying
body language
and facial expressions
stopped worrying
about the implications
I’ve started listening
to peoples words
paying more attention
to the actions that follow
thinking less
about the unseeable
and the unknowable
about the possibles
and the maybes
a bird
is just a bird
and a thank you
is just a thank you
a hug goodbye
is a lovely gesture
I’ve started taking things
at face value
I’ve stopped living
in the world of indecipherable subtlety
in my head
I’m learning
to see people
as they are
instead
of how they might be
I’m learning
to experience things
without a constant stream
of incoherent bullshit
overtaking
my brain
I’ve started taking things
at face value
And things have become
much simpler