try as you might

you just can’t seem to

push open the lid

of this cardboard box

they have you trapped in

doesn’t make sense though

as cardboard should not

be such a worthy adversary

yet here you are

time to sit back

and take a moment

to try and remember

how this all came to be

how you ended up

passing time

doing time

when they was no crime

not one you can remember anyhow

weren’t you one of the good guys

good guys to who?

yes that question puts the focus back on you

because if you see this through another’s eyes

maybe the punishment does fit the crime

but what crime?

what was it you did

that made you worthy of being

trapped in here

was it your inherited virtue

or lack thereof

that got you stuck on this place

misplaced

retraced

retracing

yet still no hint of a memory

that can help undo this mystery

back to the pondering

it seems

that some how

some way

somewhere

there was deliberate intention

on someone’s part

to impart

this prison

upon your person

but why wasn’t it done in person

or maybe it was

and the recollection of the face

condemning you to this

claustrophobic present

was too much for you to bear

“i thought we were friends”

that may have once been the case

but given the chance to plead your case

to that lingering in shadow misted over face

tip of the tongue memory you just cannot place

even though it’s one you are desperately trying to retrace

was it the one that locked you in that firm embrace

kissed you intimately on the cheek

as if to say i will be with you forever

or

was it

perhaps

rather to indicate

this one

this is the one

put this one in that box.