birdwatching

when i was a little girl

i used to watch birds

as they soared past my window

i was free like them once

then you put me in a tight cage

and threw away the key

you call me names and don't throw good food into

my prison

you forcefully pluck my feathers from my body

am i a spectacle to you?

is my suffering a show?

why do you lock me in this cage when you don't even

treasure me?

sometimes you praise me

maybe i said a new word

or learned a new trick

but then the cage is covered in a black tarp

and i am taken away from my identity

my wings are cramped

my voice is scratchy 

my heart longing for this door to open

but you lock it tighter

you make me more desperate

to go back to birdwatching

instead of being a bird that is watched