The Ceiling Poem by Nicole DeLima

I see you there
on the floor beneath the window.
You try to hide behind the curtain
but you only hide from yourself.
Your legs are sticking out
like the Wicked Witch of the East
from beneath the fallen house.
And part of me wishes to be like you -
to lose myself in denial -
but I know too much.
I am Dorothy in her ruby red shoes -
reality in unreality -
just trying to find my way home.

But there's no place like home.

I run from place to place
searching for a way out
an escape from your mind clutch.
Let me be free.
Bring me strength.
Give me speed.
Let me fly like Hercules
and break through the boundaries
that you have built around me. Above me.