I Returned

I returned regretfully
back to the safety now despised
a hardened prison without bars
except for those now self-imposed
don't ask where I've been
a quick jaunt across the way
where reality was not bent
twisted round to accommodate

now I'm back among the flock
genuflecting at their prompt
while staring at the hated walls
wishing I could fly above
normatives strung as barbwire
invisible to the larger crowd
slicing skin to the bone
flaying spirit with fixed resolve

there was a time in the past
six fathoms deep if an inch
I felt the same as the rest
that was then before the now
these prisoners in the net
content as fish in water's span
knowing nothing as they breathe
while I drown in the same depths

the dust is kicked from the feet
joined by comforts put aside
identity gained is sadly lost
or merely shelved for a later time
until I trek once again
I'll live in dimness until that day
remembering freedoms across the way
apart from chains I'll soon shed.

© 2019. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20190507.