a poem by Livia Regen.
#1
We build cages around ourselves so confidently
Until we see that we
Have unlearned to breathe freely
That we never planned a window nor a door
In the cell starting to feel like something
Close to self-pre-fabricated hell
How dense feelings do become
How you vanish and become one
With the concrete’s cold in winter and its heat right after
As you’ve never learned to counterbalance
Your self-imposed burdens
Poor little creature
Now I see you
Freezing in the corner
Not daring to let a tear drop
So controlled have you learned
To suffer
#2
I’m an empty nest
Once filled with all the responsibilities
That let it break
And me tremble
Hanging from a branch
Most between where altruism started
And where selfishness seems to be standardised
Catapulting you into your own ignorant happiness
Centring around the destruction of other life
That wasn’t lucky enough to enjoy the same
Bath in useless luxury
Where ignorance prevails
Altruism has failed
And I don’t know what to believe in
Any longer
