Rifts

Let me tell you a story

A boy goes to the river. He dances at the bank of it, allowing the water to gently crawl on his legs, pouring sand between his toes and running back. He loves the chill and the motony of it. He falls in love with the river and the way the orange sun fell behind it in the evenings. He wanted to swim. He wanted an intimate relationship with the river. To travel up and down its body, caress it through and through till he knew every detail of it and it's sweet scent. Yet he feared the river. He feared because he had heard tales of men who had gone in and never swam out. Whom the river, in its beauty had taken away to unknown lands. He would look at the river and see it calm, sober and welcoming but at the thought of going in, the river roared. The boy feared the river and yet, he loved it.
I am that boy and you are the river.

Rifts

I cannot see beyond the smoke screen and the fog that is in your eyes
I cannot, somehow, convince you of the power of love and the efficacy of its touch
I can only hope and pray that you're alright inside
I cannot walk beyond the lines you have drawn and the ditches you dug as borders.
Instead, I have walked by the bank of your river where your waves never go beyond the smile
Sometimes I sit and wait for you to reach me, maybe with your wind or with a call
But I cannot step beyond the gates of your city where you have your treasures hidden
I cannot hear the tales of your tears and your smiles
Of what makes you dance with the air or sit with loneliness, that sempiternal character
I can only hope that you're alright inside.

©Kay Ugwuzor
1st May, 2016