Held Ransom

Held ransom to an empty stare,
I cannot breathe the toxic air,
I’m starved of hope and trapped below,
By chains that choke me ever slow,

And locks that hold emotion raw,
My melancholy wants to roar,
Instead it whimpers barely heard,
My sorrow stirs without a word,

The weight of my frustrations pull,
My glass near empty, mind is full,
Of agonising reprimand,
That causes rage to show its hand,

And smite me with sadistic glee,
Restrained by bars I cannot see,
Invisible beyond their fame,
Is being noticed worse than shame,

When being noticed means they laugh,
And brush your stolen epitaph,
With lies that kindness never knew,
And falsities they paint of you,

And even though they spread disease,
You know the truth behind their fleas,
You may be nothing in their eyes,
But ransoms are a cheap disguise,

And shallow waters sometimes drown,
The gaolers and their empty crown,
Made weak through cruelty, hate and blame,
And dodgy rules that change the game,

Held ransom but the end is nigh,
And time will come to shed the lie,
And break the chains and bars that hold,
A life of hope and dreams and gold.