Why You’re Like This

Personal history can be used
To weave all kinds of explanations
For someone’s personal behaviors,

But the strongest motivation is
Inertia. You do what you do since
That’s what you do, and so you do it.

Still, that’s not satisfying. Something
In your childhood, something in your genes,
Something about the years you spent poor

As a single parent, holding things,
Just barely holding things together,
Must explain why you buy food in bulk,

Or obsess over pillowcases,
Or attend local protest marches,
Or avoid all participation.

The love of spinning a this-since-that
Explanation is itself a form
Of inertia, a habitual

Way of making sense of your habits,
Personal and peculiar to you,
Since finding causes is what you do.