A daily reading from One Poem Only—a quiet space for a single poem, read aloud.

Disjointed ConversationsJean WathuguBecause I saw that obligatory smileI am dismembering the foot in my mouthYour eyes like to wander in the middle of my lame anecdoteSo here’s my prosthetic humourSo I can fake it enough to make itHow about you write me a technical manual on how to beSo in between the jargon I can mourn the parts of me that don't fit inYou took me in beforeSpitting me outI’m a mishmash of mismatched ingredientsPreheating the oven to bake foreign philosophies into my ownI hoped you'd see me but I guess now I'm in betweenCrystal glasses of wineSo I can see through thisDismembering of the foot in my mouthThe burning off of offensive quirksThe flogging of my delinquent idiosyncrasiesThe branding of new philosophiesMy drunk mind was always more imaginative. So I'm drinking 4% beerDreaming up a version of realityWhere your attention doesn't wander off-In the middle of my syllablesThe only visions that matter are the ones you have of meIn the right lens. Did you get my good side?I am dreaming up a version of realityWhere I am solid enough to be elusiveAnd you don't have to see through me and my bullshitI am mourning the parts of me that don't fit in - do you get it?

More from Jean Wathugu ↓

• @jean.wathugu on Instagram
• @jean.archived on Substack

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