I wore shackles

They weren’t a form of control but they protected me

The ones who broke free were in danger and needed to be saved

And every day more people were chained

I worshipped that bond,

It chained me to the wall

And the wall was safety and peace

But then one day I saw

A loved one walk free

And I asked my jailer about the chains

The more that I asked and the more that I learned

The more I realized I was bound and not free

But everyone knows that caged birds

Think freedom is a crime.

With shaking hands and tear-filled eyes I ripped the shackles free

I ran far, far away

And all my friends watched me go

I ran to places so isolated,

I thought I was the only one

I feared for my life, and then worse

But one day I found out why everyone wanted to be free

And now broken shackles

Ornament my wrists

But they remind me that I am free