Marriage was anesthesia to my soul,
an overdose of entrapment. I was a caged brainiac
living on Third Avenue in a marital straitjacket
while, only one block up, on Fourth, blissful hippies
in tie-dye, smelling of patchouli and some
strange weed, wandered up and down,
as born to freedom as any bird. And I
as born to freedom as any bird. And I
wondered, how did they ever learn
to be that free?
to be that free?
A ghost of my inner self began to stir
and bang upon its cage.
and bang upon its cage.
The stack of Ms magazines grew
wise and tall
and, woe to the status quo, I began
to understand it all.
wise and tall
and, woe to the status quo, I began
to understand it all.
Helen Reddy and I sang Hit the Road, Jack,
with gusto while my husband scowled.
"We did okay 'til you started thinking
you were a person," he said, and,
in that moment I emerged
in that moment I emerged
from the wasteland of my marriage,
on a leafy sidewalk in the West End of the city,
and flew free.
Thinking you were a person! That's stunning in its meanness and reveals a lot about him. Of course you're a person, and a very marvelous one too. There are certain moment sin life that are like some sort of alarm clock for us. We can ignore the or we can take them to heart and live larger. So glad that's what you did!
ReplyDeleteThis is scary and liberating!
ReplyDeleteFascinating. This is exactly how a poem about breaking free needs to be written- absolutely loved it, Sherry. Am bookmarking this to read over and over again!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you found your path, Sherry, did not stay with someone who did not want to know you "as a person." Sometimes one just has to "hit the road."
ReplyDeleteA poem of freedom, and I am so glad you found that freedom my friend! I love the way you told the story in your poem. Beautiful and inspiring!
ReplyDeleteI love this trajectory into freedom, could almost hear through your words the key being grindingly turned and you set free: how marvelous! Made me think too of that Lynard Skynard song, "Free Bird" ❤️
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you did! Thank you for sharing this with us. Sometimes it takes entrapment, the illusory kind that you think is a type of bliss, to understand what true freedom is <3
ReplyDeleteThis is deeply personal, beautifully composed. So YOU.
ReplyDelete