Agony in a Cage

one suspect after another
one hypocrisy after another

able to live everywhere
to try to revive
in that dark, uncertain where

skinned apartment
rotten wood
of worm-eaten chairs

in a forced internment

silence
nostalgia
sheer drop

shackling
is a form of burial

disclosed
the beast moves
into the mire of Eden

from the human
to the animal
from darkness to light

in a loud voice

a beast sees
the animal within
reflected in
interpretive mirrors

to the creatures who
observe

and the storm can rage
at least for
the time of a glance