Bars on the Windows

I pace the hallways of my mind
Like a beast, entrapped, confined
I search the cage, seek the key
To set my restless spirit free
Some call it love and say it's blessed
These chains that bind with tenderness
Their lonely eyes refuse to see
Its other name is slavery
The price is high to have and hold
For a lifetime you have sold your soul
And if your capture is complete
You'll never notice your defeat
But should you chance to look and see
Beyond this sweet captivity
You'll find that shining band of gold
May choke you in its jealous hold

© Sonja Torres 1997

I am a daughter of fire and water
My heart seeks the wide open sky
But I live now in rage, confined to a cage
Locked by my very own hand
Upon which it lays, from where it enslaves
This unyielding bitter gold band

Behind This Smile

Behind this smile a heart once bold
And filled with joy of life
Retreats behind a heavy shield
Steely, hard and cold

Behind this smile you cannot see
The grief that reaches deep
For dreams undreamt and broken
And a soul meant to be free

© Sonja Torres 1997

Naked desire and unyielding fire
Awaken the depths of your soul
Demanding a price more precious than gold:
The truth of your heart to behold.
Answer the need of love's stubborn seed.
Allow it to flourish and grow:
A blossom of hope to brighten the eye
And live with the fear it may wither and die.
Or hide in the dark, lonely and stark,
A machine made of flesh, blood and bone,
Feel only lust, not the soul-kiss of need,
Make of desire a whore's bitter deed