The bruises should be obvious
perhaps they are
It has beat enough
My caged heart
The stiff, unyielding bars
So oblivious and profound
Frustrated, I'd given up
Trying to reason.
Let me out.
And it's been compared to a fettered bird,
A poor sparrow with broken wings;
but that isn't my thing.
And it's not what I am, not what this is.
Picture instead
A tiger, perhaps,
or a lion with a broken leg,
All the more dangerous in the pain it feels
And limping, still prowls.
Let me out.
And if the bruises aren't obvious
Then perhaps you're not looking.
Perhaps you should, though, make it a habit.
There's a door here, somewhere,
And one day, I'll be free.
And what you've done to me, what you've done,
It won't matter anymore. Then you'll see
I was never your captive and I wasn't your slave,
your poor pitied dove or your trembling quail.
I was only waiting, afraid, yes, but now
The crowd
Dispersed and moved on
I'm yesterday's news and when they've all gone
It's just going to be you and me.
And now I can see, so clearly it's blinding, almost,
in its unforgiving clarity:
I never should have been cowed by this person
Peering in at me.
Only one of us is the savage one:
The one waiting to leap.
And oh, I am ready, have been ready now, for a while.
Remember the day you put me here?
Remember the day I let you?
Foolishly I've waited for you to be my salvation
My bringer of love and all things good and right
But in my darkest nights I've learned
No salve exists for what ails me
And your absence spoke louder than any gift you could extend
through these bars.
And I learned not to need what I did not have
And I learned to live in spite of suffering
And I learned you weren't coming
To lift me from this cold and lonely floor.
My disbelief almost undid me, but now
I look and this cage is not inescapable.
Bruises heal. And there you are, standing,
Curious: Will she live or die?
And I warned you once,
I am full of surprises.
Let me out.
About the Creator
Rachel Dee
I'm a nice, normal mom in a nice, normal town. I believe in magic, miracles, good triumphing over evil and the overall effectiveness of laughter, chocolate, and a good, reliable sword. I also teach Special Education. That's it's own magic.
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