Holding Hands

By Abi Alperovich

Posted on September 1, 2025

Cover Image Title: Dock Days

Cover Image by: Jules

Classification: Photography

Specifications: 5734 pixels X 4300 pixels

Year: 2025

Location: Ohio, U.S.A.

You waited for her

Outside the door of her building 

Waiting in the rain

She comes out in a purple dress and sunglasses 

A golden umbrella bouncing the gloom

She walks, fast, faster

Until she’s two meters ahead

You start walking behind

Her leading ahead 

As you walk forward

Trying to grab her hand

You trip, slip,

You fall onto the concrete

But she doesn’t wait for you to catch up

You struggle up, gathering your stuff

And run to catch up behind

But as you reach for her hand again

Your depth perception lies

She keeps walking

You, stumbling behind

Grabbing your things

Moving them into somewhere that you can walk to catch up

Once you’ve gotten prepared

You walk up to her again

Trying to be right at her side

But the sidewalk fits only so much

And you don’t fit

You tried to fit in by her, 

Like somehow you managed to before

But her umbrella doesn’t let you in

It refuses the dirt on your clothes,

The fake silver on your neck,

The stains just barely bleached,

The face that tried so hard to be worthy of her.

Nonetheless, you only stay behind, 

False hope moving your legs.

So you keep walking behind her

So close to being by her side

Her hands are holding the umbrella

The rain hasn’t settled yet

You can’t reach her hands from behind her

So you wait until she puts one down

As she walks, you match her speed

As you walk, she matches yours

You can’t ever pass something that is moving at the same pace

Her hand was too far,

Her speed was too fast,

And as you struggle to keep up

She just walks right past.

You were mere steps behind

You just couldn’t catch up

And as you suspected 

As hard as you tried to hold her hand as she walked

Description:

This poem is about a man waiting to go on a date with a woman. He waits for her outside of her apartment, clearly contrasted with the luxuriousness of her life. He stands out in the rain, desperate for her attention. However, she walks out and ignores him, despite the fact that they are obviously going to the same place. He constantly tries to catch up with her, but he always fails. This piece explores the distinction between those who are truly wealthy and those who are not. I was inspired by the book The Great Gatsby, as I discussed with my teacher how Gatsby tries hard to seem wealthy and from old money. We discussed how those with old money will always be “ahead” of those with new money, forcing people like Gatsby to fall behind and try desperately to catch up.

[ Writing Editor: Anonymous. ]