peacock in the cage
we were from a young age
peacock in the cage, yeah
when i was seven yeah they sent me to school
big cage in the front, yeah, and there were two
big birds in the, peacocks in the
with their feathers all
spread, they must’ve thought we the youth
bright colours find us closer but it made me confused
early morning sunset, they never moved, too stuck in the
too stuck in the
never room, never
space, and their moon-glazed eyes looked past
never knew they sighed like (peacock) never heard them cry, yeah
never heard them cry
eight years old, i failed my first test, going home, stressed
saw a poster on the wall by the peacocks’ nest
Be the best, don’t be like the rest
peacock in the cage,
we were from a young age,
peacock in the cage
nine years old, momma signed me up for holiday class
me and sis, makin worksheets n holiday math
sunset comes, she gets a pencil cause she’s smart
and I just cry in the backseat
ten years old and sundays are spent in the study
air-conditioned, pens gripped till the ink runs
out. but there are pens stacked to the ceiling
a feeling I can never shake, on afternoons too long
like I should be somewhere with coffee i can’t afford,
when I was eighteen I learned it feels good to go home long after the sun-set
and I was proud of how much my hand ached, the ink-stains on my palms like
proof of my worth
and god’s green earth was not something I saw often
instead lost in pages and sheets written just to be thrown
some of my friends set them on fire and burned them slow
but I kept them in my closet for years
because i still wake up fists clenched and anxious
I still wake up fists clenched and anxious
peacock in the cage
we were from a young age
peacock in the cage, yeah
