Caged Whippoorwill
A poem about the need to fly free
Untie
Detach
Run
Fly
Escape
This cage, gilded though it be
Is not a place in which I can grow
Instead it is a prison
In which I am constrained
Obligated to sing praises
My heart no longer feels
Rather than a songbird full of joy
Chirping to greet each new dawn
I am become a mournful whippoorwill
Too blue to fly, as Hank said in his song
Your arms no longer comfort
Instead they squeeze too tight…
I can’t breathe
Your need is overwhelming
Your soft words no longer caress my eardrums
They grate upon my nerves
Loving words that once blossomed like roses
Now jab, thorns lacerating, drawing emotional blood
Like fingernails on a chalkboard
Please just give me the key
The skeleton key that will unlock the door
Allowing me to
Untie
Detach
Run
Fly
Escape
To fly free once more
About the Creator
Andrew C McDonald
Andrew McDonald was a 911 dispatcher for 30 yrs with a B.S. in Math (1985). He served as an Army officer 1985 to 1992, honorably exiting a captain.
Never mind. I give up.
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