A Caged Animal

In the silence of this room, I sit, feeling trapped, a rat,

Encased not in steel, but in judgment's heavy weight, flat.

The armor I once bore, thin air it seems to be,

Ripped away, leaving me bare, in a vast, unfriendly sea.

Whispers and shadows have always been friends close,

Rumors of fights and conquests, a cloak I proudly chose.

A bad boy, they said, fierce in every tale spun,

Yet, in truth, my battles are few, victories hardly won.

Less than four encounters where fists were meant to fly,

I’m no beast, no monster, on that you can rely.

A flea poses more threat than I could ever bring,

But labels stick, they shape the bell that continues to ring.

The only shield I had, a skill honed with care,

To vanish, to blend, to escape the predatory stare.

Solitude, my refuge, from those with harm in mind,

But even that, they took, leaving me nowhere to find.

Bound by lies, by deceit, a GPS declares my every move,

My wings clipped, my spirit caged, nothing left to prove.

This tag, an unyielding echo of every whispered fear,

A reminder of a freedom lost, year after endless year.

Will this chain ever break? Will the monitor ever go?

Or is this my fate, an eternal show?

They must act, remove this bind, set my spirit free,

Or let it be my constant companion, even as they bury me.

A call for justice, for truth, to break through the night,

For the world to see beyond the rumors, beyond the fright.

A plea for understanding, for peace, to finally win,

To shed the labels, the monitor, the skin I'm trapped within.