Stuck

She stands between patience and impatience,

The patience she offers to love, the impatience love has for her.

Torn, unsure which side to lean on,

She lingers between love and its many tongues—

Sweet gestures and self-assurances,

Hopeful whispers and the lessons they leave.

Caught between heartbeats and desires,

Attraction that pulls, affection that warms,

Wondering which will rise victorious.

Like losing a medallion while staring at a treasure

That waits, waiting for her to unlock.

She craves a touch of attention,

Yet turns from the small pieces she holds.

Stuck between two reflections—

One she dreams of, the other she knows.

She thought she’d settled,

But something inside still hunts,

Chasing after what she cannot quite name.

Balancing on a see-saw,

She sways, needing to land on one side

So her soul can find stillness.

She fears facing the depths within,

Preferring the safety of chains—

For she dreads that freedom might reveal too much.

She fears the loneliness, though she finds peace in her solitude.

Afraid to be her true self,

Scared of a life unchained, unfiltered.

She finds comfort in hidden souls,

Not realizing she could be her own sanctuary.

She fills her days with distractions,

From the only thing she returns to, night after night.

That’s how her life has always spun,

Ignorance guiding her forward—

For her heart feels too young to carry burdens,

And her mind, too full to dwell on them.

By Cathren Gathoni