Bridging the gap
I feel so overmatched,
fighting with / for you.
I mean, your feelings are just there—
you stretch out a fingertip, and you touch them;
you open your mouth,
and they come tumbling out.
Mine are
very far from me.
I have to claw through a vast distance
to get at them:
they catch in my throat,
they choke me.
Even when I corner one
and, finally, pin it down,
put my knee on its neck—
I find,
when I try to show it to you,
that I do not know its name.
I am learning though,
every day,
because I love you.
Every day, inch by inch,
I am
bridging the gap.
*
Alvin Kathembe is a writer from Nairobi, Kenya. His poetry has been featured in Dust Poetry Magazine, The Short Story Foundation Journal, Poetry Potion, and other publications. He co-edited Down River Road’s third issue—’Asphyxia’. His short stories have been published in Jalada, Omenana, Brittlepaper and Equipoise, available on Kindle. Find him on Twitter @SofaPhilosopher.