A Cage, Five Ways

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I
barred bastion
blissful prison—inmate
willfully blind

II
such a dainty little gadget;
may I wear it on a chain?
baubles dangle, bangle
dawdle where they hang

III
coruscation beyond cold metal
sun dropping
a globule of burnt mercury
on a fiery, futile fringe

IV
sweetheart, we saw it differently:
the airborne grounded;
the grounded free,
striving always for the skies

V
let it out,
knuckle to bone and gut,
or suppress it deeper still

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