Trapped
by Mikaella Spyrides
Morning dawns on a new day
A gentle mist settles on leaves
The tranquil stream hums a halcyon tune
The chatter of squirrels harmonizes with a bird’s soft calls
Slowly, the dreamy garden awakens
In a bush of marigolds,
Hidden under a large, green leaf,
There hangs a cocoon, patiently waiting
Where the light peeks through ever so gently and trickles in,
The little cocoon lies, unopened
The cocoon cracks and divides,
Tautly, the garden holds its breath
As a dreamy butterfly emerges
Unfolding her new wings, she flickers them in the morning breeze
A picture formed in her mind of that moment
Bathing in the sun’s warm rays,
She tried out her new wings and flew
Others like her flitted about with ease
The delicate wings that adorned her back lifted her gently
Now, at last, all was perfect
Here, higher than she’d ever been,
She finally felt grounded and at peace.
Flying freely, a picture of that moment formed in her mind
Yet, still she felt the need to go higher
Then, suddenly,
She found she could go no further.
Her wings pressed against the mesh
Trapped, all she could do was watch
The image of the perfect garden now distorted by the net
She who had once been so free was trapped
BIO:
I am a sophomore, and in my free time, I love to sketch, paint and go on long walks with my pit bull, Kogui.
Do you write sporadically or regularly?
When writing for fun, I tend to write more sporadically, since it’s not often that I feel inspired to write; but if I have a school assignment, I am able to produce ideas and pieces at a much faster rate.
What is your ideal writing environment?
I am a person who hates complete silence — it stresses me out — so, when I write, I usually pop in my headphones wherever I am, play some music and start writing out some ideas on paper.
How do you resonate with your piece? Why is it personal to you?
In my piece, the butterfly is under the pretense that it is free, flitting about on its fresh pair of wings, until it comes face to face with the reality that it is actually trapped in a butterfly cage. This is a representation of how I, and many others, feel when we are unable to fulfill our expectations because of some opposing force, whether that be a lack of time, society’s invasive prejudgements or our own physical limitations.
