A constant tap of the swinging lock,
Unlocked,
Against the golden bars,
Keeps me awake,
The cool, and empty air bites my shoulders,
And stings the veins that crawl,
Like a thin ribbon of water,
Through my parched skin,
Dust coils around my fingertips,
As I listen to the noises,
Hollow gunshots,
Agonizing shrieks,
And the howls of men barking at other men,
With bruised and bare feet,
To run quicker,
To die quicker,
I listen to the roar of everyone in the world,
Gnawing at each other for their freedom,
As smog crawls up my nasal cavities,
Like a snake choking my throat,
Smothering my asphyxiated lungs,
I hear that outside world,
Once rich green,
Is now flourishing with sordid metal forests,
Clothing the earth,
Like ants coating rotting bodies,
And the clocks are ticking,
Along with the throbbing of our hearts,
Some broken by lost love,
Others hushed by disease,
And all these catastrophes,
Are devouring me,
Scraping at my pulsing brain,
Like lion claws,
Tearing at my flesh,
As crimson blood stains my skin red,
But when the world is crumpling and calling for help,
I curl into a ball on the cage floor,
Holding my knotted stomach and dizzy mind,
I pretend I’m nothing but a dying crow in a locked cage,
And I let my own fear freeze my shuddering bones,
And sunken soul.