Liberty & freedom

From your first breath you are captured,
institutionalized, regimented.
Liberty, what is this?
Is it that long sleep we call death?
Even then they nail your coffin down
for fear you may escape.

Here, take this air and hold it
in your lungs, imprison it,
keep it within you, then exhale.
You cannot hold it,
chain it to your side,
it is the wind and will be free.

It creeps through door hinges,
tiny cracks, closed windows.
It knows no boundaries
it is freedom personified
and happily present all about you
dancing, blowing

Someday you will escape your chains
and ride upon the wind,
in your chariot where all souls sit
and dodge poor fettered mortals.
They will only see white clouds
that rush on by.

poem by Ruth Walters
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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