Back before I was laid off, so at least 30 months ago, I wrote a poem I called Cages. It was about how we move from cage to cage, all day, every day. But we don’t seem to realize it, we don’t seem to realize that is what makes us unhappy. Now? Now we are mostly stuck in one cage, and we definitely seem to realize that is making us unhappy. I was thinking about the poem Cages this morning. And a new poem came to me. Not sure what this is called yet, so I’m calling this poem Cage to Cage. That’s likely to change…..
I wrote a poem once
About moving
from cage to cageBedroom, showers,
cars, elevators,
CUBICLES.
There and back again, as they say.
Every day,
from cage to cageAll are cages.
Every day
we moved
from cage to cageNot knowing
Not knowing
that’s what made us unhappy
moving
from cage to cageNow, today
During this pandemic,
In our home,
in one cage,
we are trappedPeople are restless
in these cages
Unhappy, almost rebellious!
in these cagesWhen normal returns
Will we go back?Instead of being unhappy
in one cage,
will we go back to being unhappy,
moving again
from cage to cage?Or,
Will we at last face our unhappiness
and its source,
moving
from cage to cage?Perhaps, I fear,
we will instead,
be relieved.
At our fake freedom
from the sense of movement
from cage to cage