Ball & Chain

Your playful voice lifts me up,
your welcome tweets make me smile.
Your presence is smooth,
pleasant, and soothes
and I almost forget for a while…

I know you don’t owe me anything,
and I’d never take your pity.
Yet, I wonder if what ails me,
binds and derails me,
is beyond your capacity.

It is I who am truly sorry
for being unable to soar.
Even as my heart wishes to fly
with you into the sky,
my mind is tethered to the floor.

Will I ever be free of these chains,
these sins that drag me down?
Am I never to take wing again?
Hear the wind sing again?
Just scamper on the ground?

I may never find another as you,
of that I’m acutely aware.
But if there’s one thing I can do,
it’s not letting it drag you too:
it is my burden to bear.

I’m too well anchored to hope
to achieve escape velocity.
Until I find a way to break free,
or learn to somehow carry it with me,
the ball and chain is my reality.