not Poetry Thursday

Labyrinth
~Kenyatta Rogers

I’ve lost something and I can’t describe
what it is
_____________

and what if that’s my job
to say how empty an absence is
_____________

like rolling 2 gears together
and maybe teeth are missing in one
or both
_____________

or maybe trying to grind
two stones that are
polished and smoothed 
_____________

I’ve always liked
a little grit
_____________

but sand in my shoes
or in my hair
_____________

is like shattering
a glass in carpet
and using a broom to
get it out
____________

I can’t describe
what it’s like to
sit on opposite ends
of a park bench and
not know how
to get any closer
____________

I miss so many things
and I’ve looked through my piggy
bank and only found pennies
____________

a pile of things that are
almost completely worthless
_____________

a shoebox full of sporks
a well with a bucket and a rope
that’s too short
_____________

sometimes in my room
it’s so dark that if I wake
up I won’t know if it’s morning or night
_____________

imagine being someplace you know
so well but are lost and don’t have any idea
how to get out
____________

the rule is, put your right hand out
lay it on the wall, and follow
____________

sometimes the rules don’t apply to all of us
I don’t want to sleep here again tonight

Copyright © 2020 by Kenyatta Rogers. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on February 26, 2020 by the Academy of American Poets.