Inner Man by Charles Simic
It isn't the body That's a stranger. It's someone else.
We poke the same Ugly mug At the world. When I scratch He scratches too.
There are women Who claim to have held him. A dog Follows me about. It might be his.
If I'm quiet, he's quieter. So I forget him. Yet, as I bend down To tie my shoelaces, He's standing up.
We caste a single shadow. Whose shadow?
I'd like to say: "He was un the beginning And he'll be in the end," But one can't be sure.
At night As I sit Shuffling the cards of our silence, I say to him:
"Though you utter Every one of my words, You are a stranger. It's time you spoke."
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