I wish to write I told someone in my youth

You haven’t lived enough he told me

You have to experience life

To have something to write about

The cup needs to be filled

Before it can quench someone’s thirst

I was disappointed 

Even distraught 

I wanted to write ‘now’

But he was proven to be right

I had not lived long enough

Not shed enough tears

Not questioned things I believed in

Not gone through confusion and doubt

Not fallen so hard that it was difficult to get up

The caged bird sings in captivity

It’s her release

It’s her cry of help

In the lonely confines of the cage

It’s what keeps her occupied

It’s what keeps her alive and brings her joy 

And others are moved by her song

January 2019