I dove headfirst into the tide—

a hunger burning, open wide,

each dream a glimmer on the swell,

each want a bell I swore to quell.

I chased the shimmer, chased the gold,

chased every truth I’d ever told.

With hands outstretched, I pulled the sun,

unmindful of what I’d become.

The stars were currency I spent,

my soul the cost of my ascent.

I built a throne of fleeting flame—

it whispered power, screamed my name.

But deeper still, the ocean waits,

beneath ambition’s heavy weights.

A thousand doors, a million keys,

and none unlock the need for peace.

My lungs were full of burning air,

my mind a map to everywhere.

But every prize I tried to hold

just slipped like water, dark and cold.

And now I float beneath my will,

the silence loud, the current still.

For in the chase, I lost the shore—

a life of “more” became no more.

So if you reach for every sky,

be sure to ask yourself just why.

For drowning doesn’t always start

with water—but a hungry heart.