Captivity

The chains of routine wrap around my wrists

like shackles

and tie me to the stones of habit.

Trapped in what seems to be a never-ending cycle,

I long to break free of the restraints of repetition.

Yet I am confined by my own standards –

not even my yearning for something new

can push me to break free from the pressures I put on myself.

The expectations that cloud my mind

drown the cries from my bound hands and ankles,

and they seem unimportant

compared to the tasks at hand.

Yet I continue to hear the whimpers

from deep in the corners of my brain;

telling me I have to get out,

telling me I have to escape this captivity.

But it’s as though I am being suffocated

by my own hands.