Prison

I've been in prison since the day I was born. It has taken on many forms. It is an ever-shifting, ever-evolving, and ever-present state of being, more than an actual physical prison. At times, I have been tricked into entering without the slightest idea that's what I was doing.
I have been in the prison of poverty all my life. I've also been locked in due to intelligence; loneliness; physical differences; differences of opinion and belief; love, and the loss of it; abuse of many kinds; and yes, actual, physical prison.
It seems that the fight is never-ending. There is a constant struggle to break free of whichever prison is most restricting at any given moment in my life. I just begin to think I am free of one form of prison, that I have finally stepped out of the gate into the sunlight of the free world, when I suddenly realize I have just traded one cage for another.
I realize that most of the walls that keep me in are of my own creation and exist purely through my choice to keep them in place. And yet, often, it seems that I have little control over this aspect of my life. In fact, I am often not even aware that the walls are there until they begin to close in so quickly I fear I'll be crushed. It seems that I am completely oblivious until the moment I find myself completely overwhelmed and aching to break free...
Some days, I fear I will never be free.