KEIRA LYNN DODD

December 2016 

 

Born inside the cage, you never learned
to trust the air; nose between the bars,
eyes blinking closed, blinking open,
the world dissected into strips. 

Inside— sky glimpsed sideways,
head tilted to interpret the signs:
             
           menacing clouds
           of black and blue;
                 the wind
                   exhaled
                like a curse;
              even the sun
               a pale thing
                  filtered
                  through
               winter glass

so that if you were ever to escape,
you’d break your bones against

                an illusion.

 You don’t believe in freedom,
              even when the door opens
                             and life empties itself
                                        of paralyzing noise.

         (The silence tells lies.)

                                        The cage calls you
 back—                     a wounded starving thing
                                 without the strength to fly.

You tuck your head to your breast
and shiver in the naked air
 
                                   afraid of the open window
                                       afraid of the open door,
                                         the house around you
                                    robbed of anything familiar
                            

      just an empty room,
                                           bare boards,
                                                          and the whiff of something more:

                             a square of blue, a distant light, a whistling breeze, while you

                                                         (a fragile thing with feathers)

                                           try to rebuild your shell,
                                                          to become shiny and new,
                                                                        only to break it all anyway.

(so why not now?)

               Why not
                              spread your arms wide,
                                                                       take to the air,
                                                                                                   trust the open window, and
                                                                                                                                                    SOAR FREE?