Cages We Carry
When I was a kid, I learned survival’s first lesson
That protruded from my veins
The world divides from the the hunters and the hunted
The tiger etches its laws in the shadows
Hawks hold the cord of its
Prey whos fate is sealed under an unforgiving sun
But I never knew a parasite would rise
Not even in the darkest vice
As rotten fruit dont meet the sky
That
I would find
The line seperating the savage and the city
To blur as chaos thrives between a line as thin as breath as fragile as memory
And predators wear human skin
I always had the shielded wings of
A utopia that painted the world in shades of black and white
Its bitter pill which I clutched in my mind that gave me life
Pulsing pulsing under the gleam of an invisible knife
Whispering: “Stay small, stay quiet, survive”
But reality’s variety had more:
Angry mobs set flames to streets
Their wild marks imprint a thousand streaks
The world burns in its own flame
A harmony shifts into cries
Do they ever feel sorry
7 years old and an expert at staying small
Twisting my frame for every cage the world hurls my way
But now I am told I can be free but I still allow my head to touch my knees
As
My dreams dance on the horizon
At the click of ignition
The car carries me away
Ripping my roots from the ground
My anchors scream
And a quiet war slowly plays in my mind
Where fear finds a foothold
Whispering into my ear
You dont belong here
The first day of school
My presence spells displacement
Their stares become borders
Voices suffocating me as I feel my chest aching
Filling the holes I feel
Is there anyone out there
My call is only met with
Whispers
Those piercing stares until
Silence.
You don’t belong here
So I desperately search for another cage
A substitute to ease my pain from
Being in a loving hold
To a
Cold, flat, place
I just need an embrace
I am no longer the
Stranger kid
No more 2nd tries
One impression is all it takes for me to wear a mask
I measure my almond eyes
Reflection shows a shrinking frame
You loser
I try
Telling myself to wash away all the pain
But each cruel word a storm
And each new day a struggle to
Repel the ignorance and find myself
But deep inside
Something started to brew
I am
The wild, untamed breath
Who breaks free of the cages
Who finds his wings even if they hesitate to unfurl
I will rise
Over rivers of doubt and
Thorns of ignorance
Not as prey
Not as predator
But as pure unbridled possibility finding the boundless sky
Copyright © Aaron Lee | Year Posted 2024
|