Thank You for the Cages | Teen Ink

Thank You for the Cages

February 27, 2013
By readaholic PLATINUM, Tomahawk, Wisconsin
readaholic PLATINUM, Tomahawk, Wisconsin
27 articles 0 photos 425 comments

Favorite Quote:
I'd rather fail because I fell on my own face than fall because someone tripped me up
~Jhonen Vasquez


There was once a time
When there were no cages.

Society said I was too smart,
And led me down a sticky-sweet road
Into gleefully agreeing to be chained
To kids I didn’t know,
Who had already sewn together
Friendships and cliques
And I was an awkward, missing button.
Intelligence.
Thank you for the cage.

It was once wonderful
To be strong and unique,
To live in my own way.

Society injected the wicked serum
Of sameness
Into the students pulsing toward middle school
I was quarantined, and stayed different.
I didn’t want the sameness
Until it was too late.
Once again alone.
Uniqueness.
Thank you for the cage.

I was once free to frolic
To play, and enjoy all things movement.

Society snapped up the kids,
All but me, the odd one out,
And sorted then like packages
Into endless rounds of sports,
Demanding and competitive.
I was thrown into the group
Of the few kids who hadn’t chosen sports
At age seven
Because I simply hadn’t wanted to.
And now it was too late.
Individuality.
Thank you for the cage.

I once felt the joy of difference,
Tasted the nectar of being admired and different.


My un-sameness attracted attention,
Earning me friends and enjoyment.
But my weirdness became repetitive and annoying,
An old sideshow everyone’s already seen
And moved on to the next novelty,
Leaving me alone with my new identity
And no friends.
Small ways to vent my wayward thoughts
Could not replace the companions I thought were mine.
Creativity.
Thank you for the cage.

I had no choice but to be alone.
But I learned to enjoy it.
I soon learned that this was acceptable.

Isolation, any weak ties to others severed,
A lone, roaming island.
I relished my freedom, my flexibility
Which so many others seemed to crave.
I accepted my lone wolf status.
Others did not.
“People are talking behind your back”.


I scraped some adequate social behavior from the bottom
Of a box of nuts and bolts,
People who had been rejected like me,
But not for my reasons,
For I was still a misfit among the forgotten.
I was restricted, and still no happier.

Because there is no one.
Because I was the one who stepped into
The cages I was given

Society, thank you for the cages.
Now I just need the keys
Probably twirling lazily on the finger
Of someone who doesn’t exist,
And not a person in the world
Will help me find it
Because I am
My own person
And all that gets me is a lot of cages.



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This article has 17 comments.


on Jun. 18 2016 at 12:48 am
Tongue_Blep PLATINUM, ????, Ohio
40 articles 1 photo 769 comments
All I can say is beautiful. This is absolutely beautiful, and so so true. ~ Free :)(;

on Jan. 27 2015 at 11:14 am
GreekGoddess BRONZE, Andover, Connecticut
3 articles 0 photos 182 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The unprepared rebel dies in the fire."
~unknown

Wow... This is amazing! You got your feeling across very very well. I love how there is a small story weaved into this while you still managed to get your message across. Your feelings come across so well!

on Jun. 16 2013 at 1:48 pm
PurpleBrass1st SILVER, Duncan, Oklahoma
8 articles 0 photos 14 comments

Favorite Quote:
Today you are YOU, that is truer than true. There is no alive who is YOUER than YOU! - Dr. Seuss

This is really great! I love how deep this is! Maybe you could take a look at my work!

on Jun. 9 2013 at 5:21 pm
readaholic PLATINUM, Tomahawk, Wisconsin
27 articles 0 photos 425 comments

Favorite Quote:
I'd rather fail because I fell on my own face than fall because someone tripped me up
~Jhonen Vasquez

Thank you!! ;)

on Jun. 8 2013 at 12:17 pm
Amaranthinium GOLD, Dade City, Florida
10 articles 0 photos 49 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Do not let numbers tell you what to do. You are blood and earth, not theory and chalk." -Welcome to Night Vale

This is a lovely poem - I think it deserves to get in the magazine, haha. I've spent a lot of time feeling "caged" by other people judging me for what makes me different, even feeling like an outsider - I think a lot of people, especially us quirky writers, feel this way sometimes. It's very relatable and I love all the figurative language. Keep on writing! 

on May. 27 2013 at 6:22 pm
readaholic PLATINUM, Tomahawk, Wisconsin
27 articles 0 photos 425 comments

Favorite Quote:
I'd rather fail because I fell on my own face than fall because someone tripped me up
~Jhonen Vasquez

Haha, Thank you!!

on May. 27 2013 at 9:54 am
haley101 DIAMOND, Windsor, Connecticut
70 articles 5 photos 195 comments

Favorite Quote:
“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.”

― Mary Oliver

i absolutly love this!!! and the phrase, twirling off the finger of someone who doesn't exist... great phrase. one of my favoriates :)  

on May. 2 2013 at 6:49 pm
readaholic PLATINUM, Tomahawk, Wisconsin
27 articles 0 photos 425 comments

Favorite Quote:
I'd rather fail because I fell on my own face than fall because someone tripped me up
~Jhonen Vasquez

Lol thank you!!!

on May. 2 2013 at 5:14 pm
LiraDaeris PLATINUM, Tucson, Arizona
22 articles 0 photos 135 comments

Favorite Quote:
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Lovelily sarcastic. Yes, I just made up a word. Perhaps it isn't in the dictionary, but oh well. Poetic license. I have dealt with this immensely and you put it quite well. And you reinspired my series I had on hiatus. Artists have the hardest time in the school systems, especially when going off to college when GPA is all that matters. Keep on writing- the walls of cages give you something to bounce off of!

on Apr. 12 2013 at 8:15 am
readaholic PLATINUM, Tomahawk, Wisconsin
27 articles 0 photos 425 comments

Favorite Quote:
I'd rather fail because I fell on my own face than fall because someone tripped me up
~Jhonen Vasquez

Thank yooooou!

JRaye PLATINUM said...
on Apr. 11 2013 at 1:36 pm
JRaye PLATINUM, Dorr, Michigan
43 articles 10 photos 523 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you."

"Have you ever looked fear in the face and said, 'I just don't care.'?"

This is just beautiful! I can totally relate, this spells out exactly what middle school - and the world - is like. Definetly Editors Choice worthy :)

on Apr. 2 2013 at 6:48 pm
readaholic PLATINUM, Tomahawk, Wisconsin
27 articles 0 photos 425 comments

Favorite Quote:
I'd rather fail because I fell on my own face than fall because someone tripped me up
~Jhonen Vasquez

Really? Thank you!!!

KatsK DIAMOND said...
on Apr. 2 2013 at 2:25 pm
KatsK DIAMOND, Saint Paul, Minnesota
57 articles 0 photos 301 comments

Favorite Quote:
Being inexhaustible, life and nature are a constant stimulus for a creative mind.
~Hans Hofmann
You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.
~Ray Bradbury

This is amazing. There's so much thought and depth put into this. It took me several read-throughs to really understand it, but I'm really impressed.

on Mar. 28 2013 at 12:21 pm
readaholic PLATINUM, Tomahawk, Wisconsin
27 articles 0 photos 425 comments

Favorite Quote:
I'd rather fail because I fell on my own face than fall because someone tripped me up
~Jhonen Vasquez

Wow.  i'm pretty sure that comment had more thought put in it than the poem itself.  But thank you!

Mckay ELITE said...
on Mar. 27 2013 at 4:14 pm
Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
146 articles 0 photos 2230 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do."
—Apple’s “Think Different” commercial, 1997
“Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of the society only because their intelligence isn't understood.”
― Weihui Zhou

An amazing piece that not only entertains the mind, provokes the human soul, but also intrigue the emotions. It takes a gifted writer to write something well-written as this. A blend of brutal reality and society mixed with a subtle hope for a better future.  

on Mar. 25 2013 at 5:35 pm
readaholic PLATINUM, Tomahawk, Wisconsin
27 articles 0 photos 425 comments

Favorite Quote:
I'd rather fail because I fell on my own face than fall because someone tripped me up
~Jhonen Vasquez

THANK YOU!  My Gifted and Talented teacher just gushed over it, and I guess she sent it out to some other places that liked it (google it XD).  And I'm not trying to brag, but after all that, I was also surprised that it didn't get in the magazine (Editor's Choice, though, woo!).

on Mar. 24 2013 at 2:07 pm
TaylorWintry DIAMOND, Carrollton, Texas
72 articles 0 photos 860 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Never fear shadows. They simply mean there's a light shining somewhere nearby." - Unknown

W-O-W. I really, really, really liked this!! There was so much emotion, and you put a TON of figurative language in it... This is fantastic. I'm honestly surprised it's not in the magazine, to be honest. Did you send this in for the bullying book? You really should... I feel the same way at times. Like that I have friends, but I don't share any of the same interests, and so they often find me "weird." This is... I'm speechless. AMAZING job!!