Foot Binding

[Eva Marina]

My feet are bound
I cannot walk or run or skip
The path, moreso than ever before,
Calls for me to know its course
And yet I'm still
For every second that ticks by
A twinge pinches my heart
I see others around me, tied and bound
They fight and struggle and strive
But eventually they succumb to the twinge
They stop fighting for freedom
And become docile, orderly, dead
They sleep in the dark
They become accostomed to the pinch
And stop flinching at every tick

I watch them in despair, in sadness,
In terror, for I am terrified,
Horrified of surrending
Every twinge continues to pinch
And for the time, I am grateful
That I continue to flinch
I want not become familiar,
Not to surrender to the bonds that hold me,
The ties that bind me
Freedom's path persists in calling my name
And I hope to forever reach for
Walking down that glorious road

There will be a day
When I will be free
I will walk and run and skip
I will sing with the birds,
Dance in the rain, sigh in the sun
I will love to live freely or I-
I will turn out the light and sleep