Deeper,
Darker,
Turning,
Spinning,
Struggling,
Begging.
Which way is up?

The willow weeps, a perpetual fringe, watching the river rush past, never quite embraced by its current.

Like the last leaf clinging tight in December, browned edges whispering of a forgotten spring, while the others dance on the wind’s breath, long gone.

The solitary stone on the shore, worn smooth by the relentless tide, but forever separate, watching the waves crash, the sand shift, belonging only to the edge.

A silent observer. Always on the outside, looking in. The leftover echo in the crowded place.

She is a girl in a gilded cage, it is beautiful to look at, bars made of finest gold, engraved with delicate flowers and shimmering vines. But it is still a cage.
She is a girl in a gilded cage, protected, sheltered, safe, but not free. Like an elegant songbird, she is expected to sing, and she does, forever obedient, forever trying to please.
She is a girl in a gilded cage, never allowed out, always behind those beautiful bars while they shout at her, for she did not sing their favorite song that day.
She is a girl in a gilded cage. Begging with her eyes for someone to see beyond the sweet and happy melody she sings, to open the little door, to let her out.
She is a girl in a gilded cage, cowering in a corner as they make the cage smaller, for she did not play her part, instead doing something they will not allow.
She is a girl in a gilded cage, when they are gone she hurts herself, believing she deserves to hurt for being a disappointment.
She is a girl in a gilded cage, sitting on the floor, her only true friend lifeless in her arms, a sob suppressed for she cannot show she is hurting, always happy.
She is a girl in a gilded cage, her innocence taken too early, too fast, looking for a way out because anything is better than this pain, shredding her from the inside.
She is a girl in a gilded cage, learning how to pick the lock because no one will save her so she has to save herself.
She is a girl in a gilded cage, going to parties and getting drunk, hooking up with strangers, even though the one she really wants is there, but so far away.
She is a girl in a gilded cage, coming back every time, because they have trained her to believe she needs them to survive.
She is a girl in a gilded cage, still singing, but her eyes hold secrets and pain that she has never voiced out loud.
She is a girl in a gilded cage, something cracked within her, and someone finally notices and asks what is wrong, but she will not say, afraid of the abandonment given by so many others.
She is a girl in a gilded cage, singing, laughing, joking, and no one will ever know that she is a prisoner, one who might not make it out alive.