Falling into a hole, again and again, each time saying, āThis is not my grave. Get out of this hole.ā Climbing out, only to stumble into another, muttering, āThis too is not my grave. Get out.ā Another hole, and then another, holes within holesācascading, endless. Falling, rising, falling again. Each time insisting, āThis is not my grave. Get out of the hole.ā
Sometimes youāre pushed into the hole, defiant as you climb out, shouting, āYou cannot push me into this. It is not my grave.ā Other times, you fall unprovoked, tumbling into spaces already carvedārigid, ideological, impersonal voids. Holes whose walls were long dug by others. And sometimes, you fall into holes with others. Together, hands and arms forming ladders, you rise, proclaiming, āThis is not our mass grave. Get out.ā
There are times you willingly fall, choosing the hole because it seems easier than resisting. Only once inside, you realizeāthis isnāt the grave either. So, you climb, slow and deliberate, discovering that even after this hole, thereās yet another. And another.
Some holes linger, holding you captive for days, weeks, years. They may not be graves, but escaping them feels insurmountable. Still, you claw your way out, knowing the horizon holds an endless field of holes. Occasionally, you stop to survey them, yearning for a final, dignified place to restāa hole of purpose, of completion. Yet even then, you wonder about others who have fallen, who never climbed out. Sometimes, you think, perhaps they found peace in staying.
You move forward, torn between avoiding the holes and contemplating their inevitability. Sometimes, you fall with resignation; other times, with a stubborn resolve. But each time, you rise, saying, āLook at the strength, the spirit, with which I rise from what resembles the grave but isnāt.ā