the labyrinth is all i know.
i might have been born in it,
my nascent cries and wails amplified
by its damp and desolate walls.

maybe i crawled into it as an infant,
naive and unaware
of the horrors it housed,
for the labyrinth imitates life.

i do remember still,
when i realised i was stuck
like a rat in a maze
with no end in sight.

thirteen was when i built
a sojourn in the labyrinth.
a bubble, for no one but me
and my hopes and my dreams.

but soon the dismal walls closed in.
the bubble popped.
i tried desperately to hide
the glowing orb of hope deep in my heart.

yet slowly, it ebbed away.
with it, died all that was good
with it, paled every color
with it, i was lost at last.

with all that is left in me,
i still try,
try to find a way out.
i want to escape, i do.

how will i ever get out of this labyrinth?