Iron-clad promises bind these wings
Each oath a bar in this rusting cage
Once I soared through storm-dark skies
Now I count shadows as days slide by
My honor: a polished chain
That gleams but never breaks
While outside, wild winds call
To spaces I'll never taste
They say integrity is gold
But gold, too, can be a burden
When it weighs down dreams
That dare to breathe free
What worth is a pristine conscience
When it feeds on abandoned horizons?
This cage of my own making
Echoes with hollow victories
I've kept every word I've spoken
But at what cost to the words
I'll never speak?
