01 March 2011

The Prison


She sat and cried
Held there at that place
Against her will.
Like a bird in a cage
Fluttering away
Hitting the bars
Losing strength
Flying in one place.
Like a prisoner
Chained to her cell
Looking out through bars
Longing to be freed.
Unseen unknown
The walls, the boundaries
Held her captive
An emotional prison
She longed to break free from.

Life moved on for those around
In Technicolor
What light, what speed
What great special effects!
While she had to
Make herself content
With just black & white
In slow motion.
I want to go
I want to grow
I want to breathe
Freely!
She cried.

Within her heart
Her voice resounded
Like echoes
Loud and clear
But on the outside
They were only muffles
Sighs and groans.
Cries that went unheard
Because no one cared
To know about her welfare.

Whenever she spoke
A word about her misery
They frowned.
“Look at her complaining!”
“Everything is fine...”
“You’re just imagining it...”
“How can you talk like that?”
“That’s not how it’s supposed to be!”
“You should yield, give in
Listen to your tormentor...”

Little did they know
Their advice meant
‘Give up the right to live
The way you want
The way you were meant to
The way that would fulfil you.’
How can anyone tell you
Not to be yourself
Not to breathe
Not to live
A complete life?

Boundaries are fine
When they keep you safe
And help define you
Give you stability.
Boundaries kill
When they snuff the life out of you
When they restrict your being
When they block movement
And the vision to live
A complete life.

Boundaries stunt
Degrade and kill
The free spirit, initiative
The unfolding of uniqueness.
It stunts the stature
Of a human being
A timeless mortal
And makes her
A mere statistic
A birth and death entry
In a municipal register.

Some long for freedom so much
That they take the one way ticket
Of no return
When the breath is stilled
And the heartbeat stops forever.
“Not for me!” she said.
“I’m going to be free!
No matter what comes
I am going to breathe
To venture out of the boundaries
And live!!!”

I am not going to be content
With mere survival!
I am going to get out of the prison
To experience the joy
Of being myself
No matter what anyone thinks about me!
 I choose my freedom
My right to live
To be the person
I was born to be.
Too bad if someone doesn’t understand
Bad for them, not me!!

Goodbye pseudo boundaries
Goodbye prison walls
Goodbye the stench of suffocating air
Goodbye emotional blackmailers
Goodbye old life!
I have finally decided
It’s time to be free
It’s time to be me
It’s time to reach out for a star.
It’s time to dream
And give it a go
Make it come true!

There may be storms
There may be rains
There may be suffering
But it won’t be in vain.
I get to be me
I get to live
I get to dream again!
So Adios!
Sayonara!
Auf wiedersehn!
Goodbye prison.
It’s time for you
To be locked and put away
In a prison called the past.

-       -   Henrietta Decruz