Monkey surrounded by bars
Imprisoned by its thoughts
Wanting what it can't have
Repetitive self-doubt and anguish
Chasing someone so close to them
Yet, so far
Hoping for change
But doing nothing
Constant nothing
Leading to guilt and self-hatred
Wishing to escape
What inspired me to write this was thinking of the word monkey and cage, and deciding what type of metaphor I want them to represent. Writing this poem was difficult at first, not knowing what I wanted to write about, but when I decided, it became easy, and it just flowed. I used a few literary techniques, mainly metaphors and motifs. I used a metaphor when representing a caged monkey to someone's heart that feels trapped, and I used a motif to mention a constant emotion of wanting to love but not being able to. I decided to structure my essay in a flowing way where it builds off the previous sentence. I took influence from a poem that was in the AP test for AP Literature, where the story said one thing, but at a deeper level, it was exploring a much different theme, so that was what I was trying to do. I enjoyed creating this poem, writing about something that I am sure many people have experienced.