Poems

Caged

I am a lioness locked in a cramped cage

that barely allows me to breathe.

What I want more than anything

is escape,

someone to free me from my bonds,

or better yet;

the strength to tear this tiny cage apart.

I want to walk around,

stretch my dreary legs and take

a deep, sweet breath of freedom.

I am not the only caged lion, there are others too,

some have grown accustomed to their confinement and

cannot understand my pain.

They say I am foolish.

They say I should enjoy the protective nature

of these bars.

They say my great escape would be short lived.

They say I would only return

with my tail tucked between quivering legs.

I say they are foolish.

I could not have been born in this cage

that has suppressed my ultimate potentials.

I yearn to join the free lions...

I dream of them...

I can see the happiness in their eyes

that glitter with freedom.

I listen to the stories of their great adventures

and long to join them on the next one.

And then my heart fills with sadness

and my cage feels smaller,

I can hardly breathe now

and the rain falls from my eyes.

For I am a caged lioness

and cannot join them.