A short free verse poem I wrote after escaping an abusive relationship.

I have exited the game.
It’s back
To reality.
No more emotional turmoil
In his torturous playhouse.

I got wrapped up in its packaging,
Blinded
By empty promises.
Trapped
And belittled
And infantilized
Until I was too weak 
To amuse him.

I have escaped the cage he built around me,
Broken its suffocating walls of self-doubt.
Now I bask
In the freedom of the world around me.
A world that extends far further
Than any joker’s twisted box.

© Lydia Rose, the5ftecofeminist.com