Caged Lions and Other Clichés

There's a poem
Inside me
Roaring
Like a caged lion
Beating itself
At the bars
Of my imagination

But the truth is
I wax prosaic
Conjuring
Caged lion
Clichés
And imagination
Bound by bars

I may have
Inadvertently
Expressed
A sad truth
My imagination
May well be barred
But to what end
To protect
The innocent
From my
Wildness
Doubtful

Bars do cage
My imagination
I can feel them
I tap gently
Or whisper
Into the night
Seeking
If not freedom
At least
A glass of water
A crust of bread

I pass time
Quietly
My imagination
Asleep
Dreaming dreams
Forgotten
In the light of day

Still,
I imagine
Myself
Lifting weights
Building strength
So one day
I can bend
The steel bars
And break free

But, alas,
Even that image
Is as hackneyed
As a Superman
Comic book
And about as
Realistic

I accept
My place
Rely on wit
In lieu of
Originality
And begin my
Next set
Of thirty.

 

Reviews

[Wandering Minstrel]

A clever piece of writing - a very interesting read.

[Coyote Poetry]

Great use of words and thoughts. Made the reader feel the journey and I like the way you led me to the strong ending. We must end a place to begin a new one. Thank you for sharing the excellent poetry.
Coyote

[Anne Timmins]

Great penning..well thought out..and delivered...well done

[John Anderson]

Your emotions are wonderfully penned and freely they shine...

[Susan Beth Horvath]

The words and thoughts of this poem transposes so well to its reader(s) mind

[Ashira Macy]

To me this depicted the never ending battle between artist and imagination to try to come up with something that has never been seen before. It is hard to escape cliches, they burn themselves into the front of our minds from overuse and overpower original though. However, this poem I felt was very unique and a very smooth and pleasurable read. Great work!

I do love the witty inner contradiction and self-reflection of this! It made me smile to read you again, tonight. such a clever one. Thanks.

- Elisa

[Writer at last! Sky ~]

Very imagery and beautiful good to read

[Matching Socks]

: ]

I really liked this, it's "unoriginally" original and terribly witty.
Very fun to read, loved it!
Great write my new friend. :)