you relinquished your chains.
i didn't realize the alloy
turned your wrists green
and soured the feeling.

    i didn't realize you viewed them
    as shackles, and not the comfort
    endowed to you when i vowed
    to protect you just two months ago.

    i don't blame you.
        no, i can't. delicate birds
    don't like the clanking of cages,
        no matter how intricate
    the bars are constructed, and
how beautiful
the permanence
of a lock is