Limbo

I live in the in-betweens,
Between the need to have my voice heard and to have my face hidden.  To be a part of society and to be far from it.
To be embraced and to be left alone.
To be seen and not to be looked at,
to exist between plains of the present and the unknown.
To hold someone with absolute endearment,
to love them but from afar.
To be both one with everything and nothing at all. 

You speak of sadness, let me tell you mine,
To live as if, lacking the steadiness that brings the desire to engage and yet,  To long for the tales and wonders of those that wander.
To make a home where I stand and yet,
always feel like there is something else out there. 

To lose love and the warmth of words.
To lose the desire to pen, as such to learn, to explore.
That is true sadness.
And so I ask you, what is there to put out there,
if the words no longer dance before your eyes,
if they no longer feed you with pleasure?
What is there to put out there, when time itself drifts like endless limbo,  between what was and what could be? 

I’m Florence but I go by Jolie Laide, a storyteller drawn to the quiet spaces where film and poetry meet. I am a co-founder of Wasafiri Creative Works, an art house that produces films and curates cultural experiences. I also run Sanaa Alerts, a small bridge connecting East African artists to opportunities beyond our borders.