just listen for once

I hate being talked at, talked "to", but never heard.

When will I get to just exist, and not have to ask for the permission to open my mouth 

When will I get to be the one who is heard

I love listening to people's stories, to what makes them THEM

But after a while it's so frustrating to be the perpetual audience member

There's an essay in Jenny Slate's Little Weirds that illustrates her head twisting off her body and rolling away, outside of the restaurant as her date avowedly maintains a steady stream of dialogue 

He doesn't even notice

That her head has fallen off her body and rolled away into oblivion