You don’t even notice me at all

“This Isn’t Helping,” The National

in his negligence
many people were hurt

over the course of many years
when his negligence waned

he began to wonder if
every man’s autobiography

should begin with
“in his negligence”

he wanted to apologize one by one
but the project was daunting

the neglected covered over everything
like every breath he took

so he wrote about it instead

the things we outgrow
when we can no longer
keep our footing on the ice
of our own selfishness

—P.L. Thomas