My life’s metaphor
from the forest floor
I creep lazily and silent
my pupils poisoned with color
The crunch beneath my Keds
becomes a gradient holler
And life seems endless
like the branch of the tree
The beauty of the moments
captured solely by me
Curiosity has me
sinking in deeper
The branches get closer
and dusk gets nearer
And I’m left with a choice
on whether to go back
or stay on this off grid
darkening track
But then like a cat
I have to know
what if anything
beyond this darkness grows
While you maybe already
have turned back by now
something has my head
and turning back’s not allowed
I climb through the brush
the broken stems and branches
Constantly cut
by sharp thorn lancets
It’s way past dark
and I can hardly breathe
The foliage entangles me
and shows no reprieve
Now stuck in the pain
and frustrating life choices
I succumb to the darkness
Only sounds of the voices
The ones trapped in my head
and torment me in this place
But it’s become comfortable here
the thorn-tipped branches my warmest embrace.

~kb