You can remove the bars,
But you’re still nowhere else but down.
A pathetic state of affairs not even
Worthy of the tears of a clown.
A life you never asked for
In a world with no boundaries.
You’ve carried on, through towering fears
And rolling waves of anxieties.
Others succeed and rise and rise.
It’s never mattered how much you gave
Or how deeply you cared.
In this moment, it’s yourself you must save.
© 2022 Jeff E. Brown. All rights reserved.
Writing and Photography by Jeff E. Brown 