"The Silent Cage"

A Poem by ivy thornhill

The Silent Cage portrays a deep sense of loneliness and emotional suppression. The speaker hides their sorrow to protect others, feeling empty and unseen. In silent suffering, they accept their fate,

I don’t know why,
but I feel like an echo in an empty room�"
hollow, fading, unseen.
I long for happiness, yet sorrow clings to me
like a shadow that never leaves.

I wear a mask so they won’t see
the fractures crawling beneath my skin.

I bury my grief in the dark,
lock it away in a cage of silence,
so the ones I love
never taste my pain.

I yearn to be understood,
but my voice is swallowed by indifference.

They laugh, they talk,
but never listen.
To them, I am nothing�"
a passing thought, a fool.

I am not happy.
I am not sad.
I simply exist, numb and adrift,
a ghost trapped in a body
too tired to fight.

Though I feel empty,
I weep in the dark,
whispering to myself,
"Someday, it will end."
And when I go,
I will carry a smile�"
a lie, even in death.