The Cost of Masking

a poem

Photo by Rodrigo Rodriguez on Unsplash

I don’t know
what it is
that I’m supposed to say
during the lull of
conversations,
so I come with
a list of pertinent questions,
and an internal tally-
did I follow up to
inquire more about this?
did I take a moment
to share about myself?
do I need to take a moment
and ask about them?
is there an implied answer
they are seeking from statements?