Not every cage is made of steel. Sometimes the hardest restraints to break are the invisible ones woven into our lives. The Invisible Cages is a poem about hidden restraints and the freedom found in breaking through them.
I once thought freedom meant open skies.
No chains. No walls.
The power to move, to turn, to choose.
But here’s the truth,
most of us live in cages so invisible
we stop seeing the bars.
Government papers tell us where we belong.
Laws outline where we can stand,
what we can build,
who we can love.
Work keeps us tethered,
a desk, a screen,
a rhythm of clicks and keystrokes
traded for a paycheck.
Schools bind us to bells and schedules,
attendance taken,
curiosity measured in grades.
Even love can become a cage,
a partner dictating what to wear,
where to go,
who to be.
Freedom isn’t about escaping all of it.
That’s impossible.
It’s about knowing which constraints feed your growth
and which ones choke the air from your lungs.
The question isn’t can you change,
it’s will you.
Will you choose discomfort over numbness?
Will you trade the safety of conformity
for the raw air of your own choosing?
Seek work that fuels your soul,
not just your bank account.
Make space, even minutes,
for what sets you alight.
Let wisdom find you in places
no classroom could hold.
And when that small, steady voice inside says,
“This isn’t right,”
listen.
It’s the voice of freedom.
Because in the end,
freedom isn’t given.
It’s taken,
claimed with every choice
that says:
This is my life.
My time.
My terms.