They build the maze first. Clean white walls, smooth as certainty, corridors bending like questions already answered. Then they release the rats. At first they run wild whiskers trembling with instinct, noses full of the electric scent of freedom. They test every corner, scratch every wall, search for cracks in the design. But the maze is patient. A pellet appears at the end of one hallway. A soft light hums above it. Warm. Rewarding. Another hallway delivers a shock. Not cruel just enough to teach the body what not to touch. Soon the rats learn the language of the walls. Left is hunger. Right is pain. Forward is safety. They run faster now, confident, obedient to the invisible hand that shaped the corridors. After a while the doors open. But the rats can not leave the maze.
#Rats
They build the maze first.
Clean white walls,
smooth as certainty,
corridors bending like questions
already answered.
Then they release the rats.
At first they run wild
whiskers trembling with instinct,
noses full of the electric scent
of freedom.
#poetry #vssdaily
