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019. 22
by John Herzogso long I've lived
behind pane of glass
watching myself watch
the world go by
my fingers frozen
against my window
into the wilderness
shaded jungle with
tangles of vines
and jagged thorns
jaguars sleeping
on tree branches
how I've longed to
lie with them longed
to live among these
passersby passing
their presence never
lasting long enough
to catch their glance
as I hammer the glass
with my fists
let me out
I scream shattering
a silence so searing
answered only with
feet turning away
once they were
finished marveling
at my peculiar cage
my zoo display
so I collapsed
onto my knees
just to see this
cell has no ceiling
unless I build one
myself so I climbed
and climbed scratching
scraping chipping
my nails on the pane
my knuckles bloodied
finally reaching the peak
limbs straddling precipice
only to then realize
I need choose
07/12/2018 Author's Note: CTA bus route 22.
Posted on 07/12/2018
Copyright © 2024 John Herzog
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Philip F De Pinto on 07/14/18 at 02:47 PM I can totally identify with the jaguar and with the fists pounding on the glass, more than in a metaphoric sense pleading release from the confines in which we are all pinioned. |
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