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Labyrinth
one footstep & then another in the dust.
you're treading a well-worn path
& the prints of other feet have passed before you,
hints that there are other ways of going.
you ask
how can I navigate this labyrinth
when the corners are sharp & the corridors
undefined?
when you can no longer see the way ahead,
you have every chance of finding it.
the shadows can be deceptive:
you may never know
what is solid wall
what is illusion
& which minotaur
will stand in your way, waiting.
how did you make this particular beast?
just how much clay, blood, fear & rainwater did it take
to shape such a force?
until you find the chamber at the center of your own maze,
glowing with firelight from a shallow round pit,
you will never rightly know about this golem awaiting you
or what your breath, lurking, has brought to life.
it looms large & roaring in the semi-dark.
(they always seem larger & louder in the dark.)
but take heart — given time,
all foes shrink in the play of light & flame.
sit silently with the menace,
watch it,
clasp your hands, & wait.
this is the first step in a journey of dust:
bring yourself to the heart of your discord & wait.
observe yourself, your monster, your waiting.
when you leave, at last, alone & stronger for that aloneness,
you will carry your courage as a trophy in your bare hands —
your back still warm,
aglow from the flame in that now-silent room.
you'll put one foot in front of the other, same as always,
forging your own way, now, through the dark twists & turns.
the path you take to get out, forever changed —
so new, so unfamiliar.
yet it knows you by name.
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