Existential Loading Screen

There’s a moment after midnight When the jokes no longer land The

apartment stops its humming And I finally hear who I am

Not the profile, not the paycheck Not the version dressed for work

Just a kid inside an older face Still asking

what all this is for

I’m stuck on an existential loading screen

Between who I was and who I’m supposed to be

The future keeps buffering silently

While everybody else appears complete

Existential loading screen No percentage,

no guarantee

Maybe life isn’t late or early

Maybe it simply happens differently

I thought thirty would feel certain Like receiving secret plans

But the adults were improvising Just with keys inside their hands

Every year I lose an answer

Every year I find a name For the fears I carried wordless

For the parts I used to blame

I don’t need to know the ending I just need one honest

step

Maybe purpose isn’t waiting

Maybe purpose is what’s left

On this existential loading screen

I can breathe without completing anything

The future may not look like childhood dreams But it can still

become something

Please wait.

You are still becoming.