CAGES

Cages ought to have a shape

That suits the shape they hold,

A shape to shore the softness up

Or smooth the inmate's way,

Like picket fences bordering lawns

To emphasize the green.

Cages ought to have a shape

That gently forces growth.

So logic is a cage for thought

That urges minds to bloom,

And rhythm is a cage of form

That lets a language sing.

Or, cages ought to have a shape

That holds the darkness out.

Culture's thus a cage benign

To keep the beasties back

That men would else become,

For underneath the bars of "please"

Reside our primal hominids

Whose natures scribe our deaths.

Cages such as these require

Most careful building plans,

For in their very shapings lie

Potential for abuse:

Community too oft devolves

To rites to quell the soul,

And reason little else but means

To justify the fall.

Cages ought to have a shape

That suits the shape they hold,

Walls to keep the darkness out

And make the beastie sleep;

Walls that help the softer self

To blossom and to grow.

A spirit must its own self shape

Or else its fire will die.

And with the quenching of the fire,

The beast is free to rage.

And if the beast is free to roam

The darkness is complete.