There are no bars keeping me in, there is no door without a key in.
All the lights are on without a flicker or dim, my soul free to wander out or in.
And yet I stay frozen to one spot, unable to get past the lock that is not.
I sit and stare at my loves fading smile, trapped in the memory of when I could hold her for a while.
I curse myself and my internal latch, that I cannot get loose from this imaginary catch.
My hands are sore, my eyes are weak, my internal light ever-growing darker and bleak.
The man I once was becoming a ghost in time, locked behind this illusion of mine.
Gone of days when life was a dream to catch, why can I not get past this imaginary latch.
There are no bars, there is no steel, why does my mind command me to kneel?
I have no words, only hate, inside this prison I do create.
I scratch a marking on the wall, to remind me I must obey or face the fall.
And fall I do, further still, into this invisible pit I created by the freedom of my own free will.
The hangman’s noose so appealing,
But today is not my time, I remain for the true love of mine.
No illusionist trick, nor jailers whip, will see me lose my iron like grip.
So I will go on inside my imaginary jail,
And yes, there will be a time that I shall prevail.
Copyright © 2017 Charlie Hasler.