Caged from both the outside and within, the faces of the
crowd, gather, stare, and grin, to watch me struggle, cry, and fight throughout
both the day and into the starless night.
Sleep deprived, I weep until the mercy of rest has at last arrived,
taking me into a dreamless sleep, caging me yet again which now makes it three.
Being awoken by piece of fruit thrown at my face, I still
lay in my cage and stare back into the starless space. “What a fool!” a child from the crowd yells,
rallying others to cast me down into hell.
The cage I rest in is lifted up and thrown to the ground and
miraculously so is the one over my heart, giving the strength the triumphantly
sound. “I will not be broken or
destroyed. I am no fool nor a man with
whom will be toyed!”
I bend the bars of the cage of the outside and storm towards
the crowd, causing them to fear me and hide.
All have scattered except for the rallying child. He just has an expression that is shockingly
meek and mild.
With two cages destroyed, the one that guards the third is
this little boy. He awoke me from my
dreamless sleep, reminding me that it is my dreams that he does keep.
Although he appears meek and mild, he is the devil’s boy and
child who will cage, destroy, and crucify any that oppose and attempt to dream
and fly.
No longer will he stand there. No longer will he guard my dreams, for they
are meant for me, myself, and only me.
With a raise of my fist, he shutters and backs away, lightening my night
and brightening this epic day.
He throws the key of my dreams at my right foot, knowing
that he lost his fight and the victory I took.
A simple thing is all we need, to stand courageous and be ready to do
the deed.
I turn around to walk my victorious walk when I am hit to
the ground, putting me to a sudden stop.
I am face down with the devil’s boy on my back and one by one, the
bodies of the crowd on top of me he does stack.
I struggle and fight with useless might and the day around
me again darkens into the night. The
cackle of the boy is dark and dim as the cage over my heart is again placed
within.
“I told you that he was a fool. He is one who thought with me he could
duel. His victorious moment was short
and brief and now forever will he live within sorrow and grief.”
The devil’s boy then places me back into the second cage,
all the while, his eyes filled with malice and rage. He reaches for the key of my dreams, but as
he touches it, his hand burns and his voice curses and screams.
I can’t help but chuckle at this sight. Although I am caged, I still have some
fight. “My dreams are mine and mine
alone.” I say, and as I do, the night quickly turns back into the day.
Grabbing my key and opening the cage, I step outside to
smother his rage. The one within falls
yet again, this time allowing me to be the one who grins.
“Fine!” The devil’s
child speaks. “I’ll just find another
who is feeble and oh so weak.” He turns
to the crowd and finds his next victim, places them into a cage and starts the
process over again.
-Mikey D. B.-
John Mayer
once said that “bad news never had good timing” (John Mayer, “The Heart of Life”).
Now I don’t care how reputable he is for getting high or drunk before
every concert or if he strips down naked for inspiration of his latest album,
truth is truth no matter who says it. Bad
news does not necessarily mean tragic, but rather it could mean unplanned or
unexpected. Many good things can come
from an unexpected situation that, on the surface, can appear as a sliver of
wood in our foot. In fact, it is rare to
find convenience in a cause that is just and admirable because of the
opposition that will inevitably oppose it.
It is almost comical how much we fret over the lack of good timing in
our lives. Because of this, the lack of
convenience and good timing, all too often we hold ourselves back. We cripple ourselves from a fear of the
unknown and the things no one has ever tried because of doubt, and frankly a
lack of imagination.
Don’t get
me wrong, there is nothing wrong with being patient for the right time. Some things, only time can heal and a good
idea can be obliterated with a hot-headed, little man syndrome induced
individual. However, do we use patience
as a crutch? I feel that at times we
have a distorted and poor definition of what it truly is. “Patience is not passive resignation, nor is
it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and
enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working,
hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the
desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is
enduring well!” (President Dieter F.
Uchtdorf “Continue in Patience” General Conference April 2010).
There is
nothing wrong with making a stand. Yes,
don’t be so stubborn that you won’t admit it when you have made a mistake, but
when you know something to be true and divine, believe it. Follow it.
Live it. Don’t let others
determine what your dreams are and if they try to, make a stand. Don’t stand idly by, waiting for the perfect
time to arrive for you to act. “Risk something, take back what's
yours. Say something that you know they
might attack you for” (
Pioneers
and revolutionaries have given us the freedoms we have and enjoy and unless we
use our time wisely, we are merely spitting on the graves of these honorable
ancestors of ours. Honor those who have
sacrificed much, even unto death, by doing something with our lives. By making something of ourselves, we show
gratitude and appreciation that we are aware of them and the righteous deeds
they have performed, not for glory and honor, but for us, their future
posterity. We have an obligation to put
a stop to corruption and malicious actions if we see them. If we don’t, evil will find its next victim,
placing them into a cage and starting the process all over again. Let us make a difference in action and with
the werds we say.
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