Inside the box I am
(protected and safe)
hiding from the
possibilities that lurk
like a band of thugs.

Inside the box I am
at home, at ease,
at peace with the box
and with myself,
my chin on my knees.

Inside the box I am
where I have always been
and where
I have always thought I would remain.
Until now.

I am outside the box, my home,
my refuge, my childhood dreams and beliefs;
I breathe the new air—not cleaner, necessarily,
but more enthralling.

Free, uninhibited,
slightly homesick but eager to see
more,
singing in the open air like a bird
who trills out the story of release
from normalcy.