infinite ouroboros

What a fool I was—

a greedy Gretel girl

happily chasing crumbs,

building kingdoms out of moldy bread,

fantasizing about a feast

that would never come.

You told me:

nothing is waiting.

You told me:

this is it.

But I refused-

stubborn and still-

a stone in my own shoe,

waiting for an echo

that never even learned to speak my language.

I stitched patience into skin

like embroidered love notes to no one.

My roots stretched into poisoned soil

naively believing

they could find nourishment there.

I began to crave the starvation.

But some days

the blind squirrel eats.

Some days

burning the map shows you the way.

So here I kneel —

empty hands,

heavy heart,

a desolate path,

with nothing left to fill

the insatiable hunger

except myself.

An infinite ouroboros.