I am Sisyphus
and I am the boulder.
The weight, the struggle, the endless climb.
Every day, I push the stone uphill,
knowing it will roll back down.
Knowing I will do it again.
And yes
I am the boulder.
The burden. The flaw.
The consequence of my own hands.
This torment is not placed upon me
I built it.
I shaped it.
I made it mine.
I am Prometheus
and I am the eagles.
Torn apart by the world,
ripped open by my own choices.
My flesh, stolen piece by piece,
only to heal, only to lose it again.
And yet
I feast.
I take.
Even knowing the cost.
I devour through anguish.
I destroy through knowing.
Still, the cycle spins.
I am Odin.
gouging out parts of myself for wisdom,
only to find knowledge is not salvation
it is a heavier burden.
I’ve given everything to understand
and still, I suffer.
Still, I bleed.
Still, I fall.
Still, I climb.
I am Icarus
drunk on ambition
so desperate to rise I forget the price of flying.
The sun was never meant to hold me
yet still, I rise.
Still, I burn.
Still, I fall
wax melting down my spine
pretending I didn’t see it coming.
I am Hades
lord of my own underworld
dragging the ghosts of my past
crowned king of wreckage.
I built this kingdom out of pain
named it home
dared anyone to take it from me.
I am Atlas
my back breaking beneath the weight.
The world presses down
daring me to let it fall.
But I don’t.
I hold it.
Because I was told it was mine.
I am Narcissus.
not in love but in desperation,
staring into the reflection.
trying to recognize what’s left
if there’s anything more
than the hollow shape of who I used to be.
I am Orpheus.
turning back when I shouldn’t
letting doubt unravel what I built
watching love slip away
because I could not trust it would stay.
I am Achilles
strong, untouchable
or so I pretend.
But I know where my weakness lives.
I know what will bring me down.
Still, I leave it exposed.
I am creation and destruction
the sword above me
and the choice
to stay
or to take one step forward.