A lone bear cub ensnared in a zoo,

A creature to be sheltered from harsh reality.
A life riddled with anguish.
A deferential existence .

Sequestered from the wild,
Its hopes and dreams
Rain down in beads
Of dewy tears before it.

To be observed;
Mocked and taunted
By brusque oppressors.
A silent sheet of glass
Between us.

But I see you.
You see me.
Don’t act like the pane of glass,
Can block out the words
That erupt like bullets.

Don’t tell me
I’m just another exhibit,
To be incapacitated
By your sneer.

Don’t show me
Your contemptible face,
And act like it’s all a facade
That can be washed away.

Unless its just another reflection
Streaming down from sunbeams.
A mangled visage torn apart
By the glass kaleidoscope before me.
Another tear gliding down
From a face fraught with angst.
A final farewell
To this world
That never even saw my face,
Distorted through the lens
Of a shattered soul.
Or maybe just a another reflection.