I dangle limply over the precipice.
Performing the tightly scripted One Woman Show,
Titled, "Individualism and Freedom"
A shilled-out puppet for my boss, my landlord, my warden, and my caregiver
Watching my wings get clipped and replaced by wooden plank prosthetics
Because the lumber looks more approachable

I sit at the bottom of the toy chest
Discarded amongst the broken barbies and damaged dinosaurs
Filth and grime flood the floor with dust and forgotten food
My bin-based banishment backed on the perception of being broken
I am a square peg expected to live in my birthright round hole

I lay on the tray stand surrounded by unfinished projects and loose ends
Empty apologies waft from one ear and ricochet around my hallow hole
My head a waterproof canvas repelling feedback and thoughts like watercolor graffiti
Expectations, projections, forced wishes, and demands stab my back like pins in a cushion
Cause these words are a "necessary evil" so they say

I am hanged from my mother's apron strings
Promised the taste of liberation
As my breath of relief
dissipates