Fiction and Reality

Why do I spend so much time
Reading and thinking
About people who never existed?
About worlds that don't either
Or if they do, are far removed from mine?

 

Because figuring out why so-and-so did this
and what he was thinking or feeling
helps me figure out what I feel and why
What I want from life and from people.
And what kind of world do I want this to be.

 

And thus I go full circle, from fiction to reality and back.