Inner Lives

They roar by on bikes,
Wander down the street,
Sit watching TV,

Gather at the beach,
All those maundering
Minds of inner lives.

You may know a few,
A bit about them
From conversations,

But the only ones
You’ve ever known well
You found in fictions.

It’s complete fiction
That you need to know
Someone’s inner mind

To understand them,
To believe in them,
Find them convincing.

Mostly you predict,
You anticipate
Familiar patterns.

You don’t often know
What’s in them, or what’s
Not in you in them.