Neither Here Nor There

In this lifetime, I have had my fair share of hearing phrases such as you are not light-skinned enough, not assimilated enough, too loud, too quiet, too Black, too pragmatic, too clean (like what?!), and so on. It’s either I am too much of something to fit or less of something not to fit. I have thought about existing in this “in-between” (aka neither here nor there) space where I often find myself.

The poem I wrote below, titled “Neither Here Nor There,” came from a place of questioning: Where do I fit if I am too much or too little of something? Can I just be enough and fit in somewhere?

If you sometimes (or all the time) question where you fit in, I hope you find (or have found) the space (s) where you can exist as just enough.

——

I am neither here nor there,

I am a wanderer lost, seeking a place to declare.

Amid the echoes of a world that is undefined,

I embark on this quest for belonging, a yearning to find.

In uncertainty, my soul does roam,

Neither anchored in the past nor a future to call home.

In whispers, tales are told,

Of a heart in search, in a place so cold.

Within ambiguity, my strength does rise,

Alongside the resilience born from questioning eyes.

Finding my place is a quest so profound,

Maybe I will wait here to be found.

(Blog entry photo credit: Hannah Raw)