we were too free, they said.
and as jealousy is wont to do
they built a prison.

but as you know,

there is wonder in movement.

to hear the wind sing
and trample the ground underneath
and feel the blood rush in our veins.

four walls can never be enough.
we break out, again and again,

until they force us to keep still.

and

yet,

keeping still has taught us how to remember

being drowned in shades of concrete and asphalt.
cities that crowd us in
until we forget to breathe.

keeping still has taught us that safety has a price

that if your feet never learn to walk new paths
eventually
they forget to walk at all.

keeping still has taught us to dream

of escaping the grey—
staring up, past the trees and clouds,
and, eyes widening—

seeing for the first time the color of the sky.
realizing,
that even the sky can be trapped
by the borders of a window.

and despite knowing that,
wishing to see the sky

one more time.