Tangled

I am untangling my thoughts
Like headphones I pulled
From the bottom of my purse.

Somewhere between the synapses
And a tube of lipstick without a cap
And my dopamine
And gum wrappers,
The ideas of
compliance
and competence
Got twisted around each other.

“To be talented” plays out of the left side.
“You must follow the rules,” rings out the right.

I’m left with a mass of cords
That I try to untangle
But they start to wrap
Around
And
Around
And
Around
Each other again
Once I look away.

Maybe it’s time to invest in
Bluetooth headphones,
But if I lose them,
I’ll be a failure and a disappointment.

Oh no, there’s another pair to unwrap.