I had an epiphany

Several years ago

In which I realized that it is not necessary to have an

Opinion about everything

Or, if you do, it is not necessary

To express it higgily piggily and unsolicited.

Before this illumination I did not doubt

For a moment

That I was obliged to have and

Other people wanted and indeed

Needed

To listen to my judgments.

These days I form few opinions

And share none that are unsolicited

Except sometimes I forget

And blurt out a fragment of a critique,

Some position that

I have come to believe and in the moment have an evangelical impulse to spread

So then all I can do is stop in mid-opinion

Back away apologetically and say

But of course I don’t really know

And hope the other person buys my story.