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Labyrinth

Left, right,

straight, left,

right, left.

 

All are ways to go, but which is the way?

 

Running up and down among the maze,

constantly looking for a way out.

 

I will not find one,

that I know,

but still I look, frantically seeking an exit.

 

Right, left,

right, straight,

left, right.

 

I’m back to where started,

no closer to finding an answer than in the beginning.

 

I begin to panic,

the walls seem to be caving in on me.

 

I push against them,

I pound I scream,

but still they move,

threatening to forever keep me between their cool, impersonal solid forms.

 

But the walls stop only seconds before I am trapped forever,

and they separate.

 

I take a moment to catch my breath,

and they appear,

many reflections of myself,

all eager to share their differing opinions.

 

Left!

No, right!

Take that way!

Take the other way!

 

But I cannot move,

frozen in time and mind,

decisions weighing down upon my soul.

 

Who do I listen to?

Who is my foe?

Who is my friend?

 

I clasp my hands to my ears,

but their deafening cries do not cease.

 

I scream, I yell, I try to thrash at them,

but they only laugh at my efforts.

 

Finally I give up, I’m done,

and only then am I free to move.

 

I slump down against a wall,

defeated in every way.

 

And then the most miraculous thing happens:

silence descends around me.

 

I look up to see them smile as one,

and disappear into the milky late of the maze.

 

Confused and cautious, I stand up,

wondering what will be thrown at me now.

 

But I hear nothing,

not a sound.

 

No walls move,

no reflections appear,

and all is still.

 

I hesitantly put one foot in front of the other,

and only now,

with my mind clear and my thoughts calm,

do I successfully navigate the maze.

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Written by
braden-campbell
American
Published
Mar 22, 2010
Lines·Words
59·318
Permission

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