The capacity around me contorts into something compact.
The empty walls close in on me.
The room shrinks smaller with me still in it.

I push back. I fight with all my might,
Combating as hard as I can for the enclosure to stop compressing.
“Stop it! Just stop already! What did I do to deserve this oppression?”

And then in ends,
I am trapped.
Four sides surround me entrap me.

The nails that once held up paintings,
Collapse with the walls,
Digging into my dermis from all directions.

Their flat heads hurt just as much as their pointed tips.
Their tops press tightly into me,
But without bursting my bark.

It stopped,
But I’m stuck standing straight up,
No hope of escaping.

How did I get here?
I don’t know.
It just happened.

I guess I walked through the wrong door,
But when I wanted to leave
There was no way out.

That door was shut, locked up,
And faded away from my field of vision,
Almost like an illusion.

So now I’m trapped.
Trapped between four hard places and nasty nails,
Where I guess I’ll just stay stuck.

Oh, I can see the light above me,
I just can’t get there.
These nails do their job and hold me in place.
Don’t move a decimeter,
They only dig deeper.

Oh, I hear the hustle and rustle and bustle,
Plus all the other noises coming from the hole above,
I just can’t climb up without spilling some of my own blood.

I’m stuck stiff and stationary,
With no way out,
Stranded.

Staring up I see the struggle,
Scarlet specks stain the walls and nails higher up,
There have been strangers where I stand.

They all flew to freedom,
They all forfeited their blood,
This is definite.

I want to be like those people,
But I can’t stand the sight of my blood spilling,
And what about the scars?

I’m sure to receive some souvenirs from those nails,
Fixed forever on my body as a remembrance of being caged.
There’s no w-
Well, maybe I could try.

I lift my left clavicle,
I listen to the lacerations forming,
I continue upwards to reach for what’s above.

Those nails sure are angry,
Stinging me with every little movement,
Finally, I’ve reached the above.

I haul my body up
And see that glorious sight.

There is this wonderfully fantastic world,
Filled with sunshine and brightness and color and happiness.

I feel free, I feel happy.
I hardly think of the blood trail trickling off my torso,
For tearing through those treacherous nails has been so worth it.


Then, a person approaches me,
Covers my bloodied body with a blessed blue blanket,
Takes me in, cares for me, makes me feel… good... about me.

I leave the leering hole in the ground.
I vow never to return again,
But the scars stay with me.
They remind me of that hole, those walls, that room.

And everyday damn day,
I look down,
I watch my step,
Just to avoid any hollow holes in the ground.