Shackled

I was shackled to my hurt and all my tears

Forced to reconcile all my hope and all my fears

The key to salvation lay at my unshoed feet

My arms outstretched, yet I could not seem to reach

My happiness was bound to sorrow and regret

I crawled and cried to those who seemed not to relent

The chance to fix it all appeared a bleak and hopeless task

For like myself, my captor wore nothing but a mask

Hurdles lay before me, like bones left of the dead

Inching forward on hands and knees, crawling to be fed

The blood lay cold. Pooled. Nothing. Stagnant ponds.

Black and thick, the evidence of players and of pawns

I was shackled to my hurt and to all of my tears

I reconciled my ignorance with all of my fears

The key to my salvation lay at my sawed off feet

My arms outstretched, yet they still could not be reached