Hidden

My emotions belong in a cage,

Eventually, slowly, hesitantly plotting a war to wage.

If I ever let them show, let them out, they’ll raise hell,

For the vultures, they ring the dinner bell,

For my enemies, they sound the alarm,

They do everything and anything they can to cause me harm.

The second I let them out, they force me to scream and shout.

I merely lie silent, hoping, begging, pleading for a way out.

Once I finally force them away again,

Once they rest again in their den,

So many people lie broken,

Their ribcages ripped open and their hearts gone as a token.

Their tongues afraid to help utter a sound,

And Anger sits and watches over the destruction on a mound,

Holding high his broken chains,

Smiling wide at his earthly gains.

 

However, Sadness comes carrying her child, Despair,

Seizing my heart and putting it in her care.

The toddler squeezes it, making it hard to breathe,

That’s the moment I truly begin to grieve.

My screams are heard as tears run rampant,

I scream, crying, whispering, dying, feeling repent.

Sadness keeps her weary eyes closed,

Thinking Despair has no threats posed.

And so, Despair loses a toy as I shed not a tear,

That’s the moment I slip into fear.

 

Fear likes to flaunt his partner named Scared,

And anyone else who foolishly dared.

I felt my heart begin to run a race,

Keeping up a fast and steady pace.

Fear and Scared took turns pinching my brain,

As my tears and fears came out in the rain.

Finally, I found courage, my strong friend.

And finally, I found the power to bring this to an end.

 

I ripped Sadness and Despair apart,

Thoroughly shattering their shared heart.

Fear and Scared came next as a pair,

Having been hidden deep in their lair.

Finally, I faced Anger, both half good and equally bad,

He held his weapon high, mine fell lower a tad.

He rushed in. I followed his lead.

He slashed my arm, I slashed off Greed.

He aimed for my heart, I aimed for Fury.

He missed me, I attacked before he could scurry.

Anger was beat, I had won.

Anger fell next to Worry who he immediately began to shun.

 

Worry had been one who had been let out in the past,

She was one who could never last.

Sometimes she helped, sometimes she hurt.

Our meetings were kept frank and curt.

Her siblings did not enjoy the fact that she was loyal.

They even called our communes toil.

Yet, like the others, she was forced into the windowless cage,

Hoping and praying, I begged her not to engage.

 

With confidence and strength on my side, I closed the door.

I quickly closed my eyes and slid to the floor.

Intelligence speedily locked the door with a click,

Anger was one you tried not to tick.

Lastly, Happiness came and helped me up,

Attempting to make me smile before following me like a loyal pup.

Shakily, Intelligence handed me my mask,

I sighed, placed it, and completed the task.

Once more, the cage was locked and hidden,

With my painted smile on, the terrors were ridden.

My painted eyes were wide and opened, no one knew,

No one held a single clue.

No one knew that this was my numbing.

No one foresaw the gunshot coming.

No one knew that I pleaded for the kiss of death,

That was, until I shuttered with my final breath.

This poem is about: 
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