Why does the tips of my crown
Resemble the bars of this cage
With those outsiders who come
To view me outside of my reign

My fierce and untamed nature
Does not fit with the oppressed
A queen outside of her kingdom
Still does not make her powerless

My roars cannot break the glass
It's echos drive wild and restless
All I can do now is sit and pace
With all this power without an outlet

My sharp claws are nature's daggers
Not enough for this man made surface
I am fed with no need to hunt
I am no longer the primal huntress

I am separated from my kind
With no use for my defences
I learned to live for only those
Who desire my entertainment

Soon my freedom will come
My escape is simply inevitable
I lie in wait as I gather my strength
This cage doesn't define my potential

I don't want to live an inevitable life
Grazing my hand along the borders
Inside the box of my comfort zone
Under perceived superior orders

I was given a voice with wings to fly
Yet, I hover underneath a lid
Of expectation and norms
I used to believe in such a myth

I'm not good enough and never will be
I became susceptible to that truth
But it was only a different opinion
From someone who wasn't my muse

Creative artistic expression
Sparks the fire behind my eyes
A flame that burns at the core of me
With those who try to dim my light

They try to put me out with lies
Until I become ashes and doubts
Be practical and realistic, they say
I asked, is being myself not allowed?

I let those voices get to me
Residing in my heart's cracks
They were the first to break me
From spewing unwanted facts

What is fact and what is fictional?
As though you decide my fate
My dreams only happen inside me
And stayed there as I grabbed the bait

I should want that mundane future
A tried and true pre-written path
In order to support the ones I love
I play a character so miscast

Because to live that kind of life
I neglect what I want the most
To endlessly create, knowing I'm free
Without the limits I grew up to know

I tried to control the chaotic ocean
By knowing the mind behind the waves
I thought the sea could reside within my grasp
If only I knew how the waters behaved

Water resembles so much of life
And I could not help but drown in it
The tides move faster than I can swim
More than I am willing to commit

I need space and time to breathe
And like life, the waters won't wait
Constantly, flowing like a river
Life pulls me along by my fate

To survive, you have to swim
Trying anything to keep afloat
Life won't stop because you do
It will grab you by the throat

Then throw you into its depths
Where you can finally rest
Feel the stillness you never had
After all, you had given your best

But before you touch the bottom
Where heaven's light cannot reach
Remember all of your past struggles
And ask, what was it trying to teach?

Resting and quitting are not the same
You're only finished in the moment
Pull yourself back and take a break
Then simply readjust your focus

The only thing you can control
In this chaotic span of life
Is yourself alone in its entirety
Cater yourself to what you strive

I found hope in every opportunity
I made light within the dark
I created love in fragile ruins
To make up for what was scarce

I wore rose tinted glasses
Red and pink looked just the same
I couldn't recognized the red flags
To me, it was only a darker shade

I tried to fix what wasn't broken
I tried to create without materials
That is how I loved and lost
If only I had been more careful

The cracks and scars within my heart
I only have myself to blame
I keep loving what only hurts me
And love and hurt turned into shame

Love became synonymous with pain
If it doesn't hurt, it is not love
But soon I resented it entirely
I had experienced more than enough

I thought that if I wanted to heal
I should just isolate myself
With time, some space and solitude
I would not need any outside help

Every human wants to be love
To me, it was only a privilege
It was a choice to ask, not a need or right
I interpreted such a rigid image

But love is not the cause
For ill feelings to come forth
True love is pure and positive
That gives it all its worth

I wanted to be loved yet deprived myself
I thought love was just conditional
If I didn't give what you couldn't take
Not loving me was understandable

I surrounded myself with those who loved me
Who loved only for what I could give
Not for who I am or what I wanted
It was the life I thought I wanted to live

Then I wondered why I kept losing people
And why it became harder to please
No matter how much I could give
I could not fulfill my own wants or needs

Now I surround myself with those
Who love not only my company
Who love me as I am and who I was
I now look at love a little differently

As a copy, I find it difficult
To the chase such expectations
Every action is closely dictated
To mimic the original's intentions

Limiting precision and accuracy
Leaves no freedom of expression
I am only an embodiment
Of some product imitation

Every movement I call my own
Only causes more frustration
Because it strays from what is known
Like a phrase lost in translation

What if I was the original?
No longer seen as a mutation
To be the focus and not forgotten
To be the object of admiration

But I am merely just a shadow
A silhouette born into submission
Lost in darkness, behind the light
Cursed with a muted motivation

In every silent moment
With every passing day
Allow me to reassure you
I will be here for you, always

Whether you choose to be alone
Or love another someday
Know that I'll still love you
I will take care of you anyway

But know that love has two sides
Where we must meet halfway
Let me in to accept my love
For you, I am here to stay

When the heartstrings have severed
I trust romance a little less
In attempts to save myself
From more emotional stress

Though love without the flame
Cannot be love at its best
But I am scared to burn out
And be broken like the rest

Emotionless and tired eyes see
That true love can be intense
Full of tears and excruciating pain
Crying over something so complex

After every fresh new heartbreak
My heart still fails to address
Why after every heartache
My mind bleeds in protest

Because after every broken love
There is more that I suppress
In order to protect myself
I just love a little less