Four Small Lives

I lived in a cage. I loved it. The bars were golden. They were polished each day by hands that said they loved me. I never asked who locked the door. I lived in a pond. I loved it. It was shallow, but it mirrored what I wanted to believe. I never asked for more. The lily roots were enough. I lived in a cocoon. I loved it. Silence wrapped me like a prophecy. I believed wings were a myth, and becoming was for someone else. I folded in on purpose. I lived in a bubble. I loved it. It shimmered with the truths I preferred. No one could reach me. No one asked me to leave. It kept me hollow, but whole. Now I am out, The world is too wide, I had made myself small to fit those shapes. They call this freedom. I carry it like grief.