“Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage”~Richard Lovelace, To Althaea, from Prison.

Fear held me still,  
a room of tight air  
and looping thoughts  
that made the day  
feel too small to enter.

I learned to pause.  
To watch a breath.  
To name the noise  
without becoming it,  
and let thought be a tool,  
not a storm.

Then I moved.  
One clear step,  
then another.  
Not fearless—  
just free enough  
To choose.

Three little birds, Bob Marley

Made with duck.ai 💛