I remember a time when I roved unshackled.
When the desire came to dance,
I leapt like a Brolga
spreading arms like wing.
No-one frowned
called it madness.
Dance brought change.

Once, change was life.

Then came confinement,
a concrete straitjacket,
I became
trapped in unsheddable skin
I lost the urge to dance
for they had locked me in.

Locked me in.

Visions came creeping
like, yet unlike what I had known before.
Men drained of colour.
Grazers that did not bound.
Fish which gorged on mud.
Strange inversions,
insane dreams.

Now I snore,
sewage soured.
I lie in filth,
I lie uncomplaining.
They have poured lethargy into my veins
and it seems I no longer care.