When I realized
the jail cell door had never been locked,
And the
power to leave was always mine.
The shadow
of the warden imposed on the wall,
Just an
illusion creating the delusion
That kept me
standing still.
Frozen for
years,
Afraid to
choose between fight or flight
Because I’m
looking into a funhouse mirror
Trying to
measure dimensions that keep changing.
I had nothing
to trust, and nothing to hold on to
Except the wrought
iron bars
Of the cage
around my heart
Which felt like
a lot like safety when the rest of the world was crumbling.
But when you
turn on the light,
The monsters
turn back into teddy bears and coat racks
And when you
can see what it is you’re looking at
Things that
you feared before, seem almost laughable now.
And I breathed
a sigh of relief
When I realized
I was neither crazy, nor evil
Nor
deserving of imprisonment.
They say
freedom isn’t free,
But the
truth is, it costs as much as you’re willing to pay.