The Box

~

You once built me a box

and folded me tightly inside,

each limb crammed into a corner,

and my black heart neatly bow-tied

by the hues of the role you assigned me,

the colours I was forced to wear,

for it suited you to paint me onyx,

and the infamy followed me everywhere;

and ‘though the box has

now grown dusty,

and I’ve long since left its confines,

my name still graces its contours,

in blood-red, savage lines,

for it suits you to keep me labelled,

and wear this persona

that was never mine to own;

I am the scapegoat for

your shortcomings,

and there is no way for me to atone.

~

©️ j.sexton

Photo by Sep via Unsplash