In the labyrinth of a difficult text, we find unmarked forks in the path, detours, blind alleys, loops that deliver us back to our point of entry, and finally the monster who whispers an unintelligible truth in our ears.
Hope and despair ignore one another's cries.
Repetition comforts me for a time, then closes in.
The critic roams through culture, looking for prey.
Cruel impulses stir all about my kindly heart.
Sweet smiles soften judgment. Sweet haunches unseat it.