Caged

By Shilpa Jyothy V S

It is a wide-wild world

I can be anything and everything.

It was not to be.

Because, just being doesn’t matter 

But status and prestige does.

I wanted to run with a satchel in hand.

But made to put on a shoe and pick up a bag

My mind contained within texts and books.

Because, feeling alive doesn’t matter 

But, wealth and power does.

I wanted to feel the grass and be the wind.

But carved into something I never was 

My life contained within four walls.

Because living doesn’t matter 

But symbols and marks does.

Years went by and with it,

Countless thoughts of ending it all

Hues from here and cries from there

“The clock is ticking 

And your checklist is still undone.”

I wanted to roam with the horses and waves

But tied to a screen with all interest lost

Each day spent counting and comparing 

Because being human doesn’t matter

But name and fame does

Caged I was

But essence not lost

I am not to be pinned

I am the wild

Thus I broke the cage.

Breaking free from the shackles and ties

Free from the ambitions that were never mine.

Without labels and names, I flow free.

I am anything and everything.

And “I will never be caged again.”

By Shilpa Jyothy V S