the cage

I shake the bars

let me out

I scream

silence

answers me

the cage

confines me

the cage

controls me

the cage

denies my will

Its steel bars

strong

steal

the warmth

from my hands

trapped

I pace

in circles

round and round

I pace

in squares

the same corner

turned

over and over

I pace in lines

each leading

nowhere.

round and round

turning the same

corner

on the same

lines

on a path

blocked

by the bars

of my cage.

“Free yourself,”

I whisper,

“The door is open

Free yourself.”

The door

of the cage

stands open.

I don’t move

I just stand there

and

look at it.

I can walk

through

the open door

or

I can stay

in my cage

and

pace

the same lines

turn

the same corners

walk

the same circles.

The choice is mine.