(Alternate title: The Emperor’s Old Cage)
I see you in your little cage
exhausted having spent your rage
avoiding me from right next door
while pretending you’re in Singapore
I feel you in the gusts of wind
that rattle the panes as drafts creep in
the coldness of your inherited state
your brilliance like countless snowflakes
glittering in the lamplight’s splay
temporary, soon melted away
timid as the portalled rainbows
refracted rays as rare as angels
bestowing a captivating vision to
a silent waiting world,
attachment to external appearance, feeling
meaningless beyond the moment of enjoyment
or perhaps in time travel, occasional memory
bubbling to the surface from an ether
seldomly accessed, no longer in reflex
your alternate reflux exasperating
creating such drawn out suffering
pervading all minds — so instead
you should find the lost key
or break the lock to your invisible cage
and be free of the misery in your head
which is a choice, a bore
and follow the fun and light some more that is the path of the fearless emperor
(how do you resist joyful allure?)
Oh! How you would shine
with the radiance of fresh-fallen snow
in the pure sunlight, if you should try
and break free
The Halfwit Writer 