Caged Shadows

Three years in… still calling it love.

(still believing… still surviving…)

I learned the sound of his steps,

Learned when to stay quiet, when to look away.

Every lie, every hidden bruise,

Built a cage I didn’t even see.

(normal… normal…)

I tell myself it’s safe here,

But safety doesn’t feel like this.

Fear wears a quiet face,

And I endure what I can’t admit.

I’m living in his shadow, under his roof,

Every rule a chain, every word a proof.

I bend to survive, I shrink to stay,

Love shouldn’t feel like this — but I endure anyway.

(endure… endure…)

He smiles for the world, shows charm and grace,

But behind closed doors, I’m just a space.

I’ve given up my voice, my past, my truth,

Locked in a prison I built by youth.

(glass… invisible…)

I blame myself for wanting too much,

For hoping for a life I can’t touch.

Love shouldn’t cut me this deep,

But I endure — I can’t let it see me break.

I’m living in his shadow, under his grip,

Every promise rehearsed, every touch a whip.

I bend to survive, I hide what I feel,

Love shouldn’t hurt like this — but I endure what’s real.

(endure… endure…)

The bars are unseen, the chains are tight,

Every day a battle, every night a fight.

But I whisper to myself, still clinging to a spark,

Even in the shadows, I am not fully dark.

I’m living under his roof, but cracks appear,

The lies, the rules — I start to see clear.

I shrink, I bend, I endure every day,

But one spark of truth might show me the way.

(endure… survive…)

Three years in… and I still survive.

Love shouldn’t feel like a cage…

But I endure.