Cages

His weekend used to start on Thursday, a quietish night in the pub followed on
Friday by a more spirited attempt to forget who he was. Hair of the dog and
pills on Saturday, Sunday the same plus powders, home by Monday lunchtime for a
fitful slumber to be abandoned at 9pm when he phones for his usual pizza
A change is just a new routine
A new function for the same machine:
Are we ever truly free?
Don’t walk, just run —
And you’ll know you’re having fun
Break the promises you swore
As your heart screams out for more
But these days it’s all shopping lists and school runs, direct debits and tax
credits, nasal hair, fungal nail infections, dishwasher tablets,
citalopram and CBeebies
A new life is just a new routine
A new function for the old machine:
Are we ever truly free?
Just walk, don’t run —
Don’t you know you’re having fun?
Keep the promises you swore
Let your heart screams out for more
He slides his buckled supermarket trolley into the others and retrieves his
wife’s pound coin. The car park is full, but he knows exactly where to find his
family. As he fastens his seatbelt, he thinks: Freedom’s overrated anyway