Like a Donkey

There is a common dialogue
protocol
guaranteed to maintain
social locks and doors,
and she follows it --
like a bemused donkey
trailing its master --
careful to skim only the surface
and barely rattle the doorknobs . . .
for the code is very particular
about what not to touch.
Perhaps this is why
so many conversations
leaving her pining
for a dilapidated barn
smelling frankly of
hay and manure.