Stutter

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STUTTER


If it’s coherence you’re after, 

sit tight—it's not coming anytime

soon. Even after the starts and stutters,

gears spinning like an engine cranked 

cold, what you’ll find is some babble,

an earnest look of intention, linear

narrative twisted past recognition. 


If we're to make any progress

here, progress must be redefined.  


So carry on as you were, 

and cut us some slack, toddler. 

We're slow learners, and some of us 

are just now coming around 

to what you already know: 

that meaning is a jumbled syntax, 

and even if you force it out 

it never goes away, this ache

to say the things too big for you.


It’s a lot to ask a little world 

to articulate itself, and our best hope

is that love will untangle it enough 

to know what we're getting at

before saying it back

the way it was supposed to sound.

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