Uncaged
John Jessup Kennan 1953 (Pomona)
I lock me willfully into
The soft and subtle question
Surrender to a whisper
A hostage to suggestion
Should I take the lady captive
I'd bind my own self in those chains
Happily, I'd lock you in with
The unclinically insane
Integrity
Diminishes me
Kept under lock and key
Be still, my heart, and listen
Your keeper
Keeps you free
The appetizers have been served
The feast has been prepared
I feel the hunger in your eyes
My heart is running scared
I'd love to lock you into love
And love you like I know I can
With variations on a theme
But love makes its demands
Integrity
Diminishes me
Kept under lock and key
Be still, my heart, and listen
Your keeper
Keeps you free
The beaten heart, sinew on bone
That's how the story always goes
Stared into me with those brown eyes
I felt it in my toes
We cremated my dignity
The ashes of our passions burn
You may not get what you deserve
But you will pay for what you urn
Integrity
Diminishes me
Kept under lock and key
Be still, my heart, and listen
Your keeper
Keeps you free
© John Kennan 6-21-16
Font size:
Submitted by rankstranger7 on May 24, 2021
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:00 min read
- 6 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | xaba xxxx CCCABC xded xxxx CCCABC xfef cgxg CCCABC a |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,032 |
Words | 199 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 6, 4, 4, 6, 4, 4, 6, 1 |
Translation
Find a translation for this poem in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Uncaged" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/100748/uncaged>.
Discuss the poem Uncaged with the community...
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In