A Beautiful Cage Poem by Jasleen Kaur Khanuja

I was born in a beautiful cage,
The cage that I called home.

The cage was pretty on the outside,
But was filled with hatred and lies on the inside.

Flowers and fruits could be seen all around,
But the little invisible thorns were not easily found.

The shine of the beautiful cage was so strong
That it irritated the eyes of the passersby.
I loved this beautiful cage, I can't lie.

The cage had a strong grip on me,
It always felt like a crime when I even looked at the door keys.

The owners of the cage loved me so much
So they tied something on my neck so that I would always stay in touch.

The owners of the house gave me food to eat and a comfortable place to sleep.
Their love and affection somehow made me weak.

The owners were loving and caring but sometimes made me feel like a burden
As I was not paying them for my accommodation.

Sometimes I tried to step out of the cage but somehow I stopped.
What always stopped me was the collar belt of a dog.

To my surprise, there was no dog in the so-called house.
And when I asked the owners, they acted innocent and asked, 'What are you even talking about? '

The stretching collar belt has started hurting me now,
So I stopped going outside until the belt finally allows.

I wanted to go outside to clear my mind but
The fear of the collar belt always stopped my spine.

Days passed, months passed, now it's time for years.
The beautiful cage has become a wreck now, and oh, I can't even bear.

The toxicity in the cage has now entered my blood and has stopped my breathing.
Not a long time until the owners find out that I now have a plan for cheating.

The beautiful flowers are not alive anymore, the fruits are bitter too.
The toxicity would end my existence, I somehow knew.

The inside of the beautiful cage is not so beautiful anymore.
It is pitch black in here, nothing is visible, not even the door.

I am scared and I scream for help but none of the owners seem to listen.
Soon I saw the first fall of the snow and the way it gleamed and glistened.

The snow looks pretty and I want to leave the cage to play with that stuff.
But the scars on my neck remind me of how I was always tortured by showing the sign of love.

I loved this cage even more than myself.
I don't know who kept the sorrow on my nearby shelf.
The cage that I wanted to save at any cost,
But now it doesn't matter as I feel so lost.

Now I feel my body could not leave this ugly cage but maybe my soul could.
But I wonder if the owners would burn my soulless body or would leave it in the cage but under the woods.