Blackbird

Trapped like a bird in this filthy cage Where I am starved of compassion and understanding Left to survive on meager crumbs Of affection and tolerance Held captive and unable to fly and be free From the physical and emotional restrictions Placed upon me by my keeper Who’s only reason for my presence it seems Is to stay its loneliness and insecurity To feed its selfish need for control Through its twisted concept Of love and adoration I am looked upon as a possession Other than the living, breathing individual That I long to be So now I sit upon my proverbial perch In my so called gilded cage In the confines of my seemingly mundane existence And walk though my mind confused and alone Aimlessly wandering through the now empty spaces That no longer hold the dreams or aspirations Which I once thought gave my life purpose Memories which were bright and alive Full of promise and hope but have faded away Into a past that is now grey and bleak Devoid of anything worth remembering My footfalls echo in the silence Giving testament that these memories Have been empty and forgotten long ago My only hopes now are that my keeper Will grow tired of my deliberate silence And obvious disdain and release me Whether through life or by death At this point either would be welcome How I long for the freedom And comfort of the clear blue sky The ability to soar like a bird High above the reaches Of those who only want to keep me And fly towards the bright and colorful horizon Where I know my future waits And new memories and dreams can be made.