I was adrift
looking to everyone else
for a purpose
looking looking looking
for directions
to follow step by step.

but the ones I was looking to
were searching in me
for the same thing.

the loop was at risk
of going on forever
except a sadness
saved me.
it dragged me to the dark
lonely bottom
so that my only option
was to look
within.

I came back to myself
my purpose
was hidden deep down in my ribs all along.
other loud noises
distracted
me from what I had known.
I learned to
quiet the world
and listen to my own voice again
for the directions
I was lucky not to find
when I was drifting.

I look now
not for a
recipe to copy
but for a person
who can hear their own voice.