We place things in cages and tell ourselves it is for their own good. Animals. Children. Partners. Parts of the self. A bird behind wire for its own safety. A dog confined until it learns. A child ordered to be seen and not heard. An adult who buries feelings to keep the peace. The phrase becomes a shield. The cage becomes the strategy. And we pretend it is care.

Nothing about it is care. It is fear disguised as protection. It is control sold as responsibility.

Anything alive begins to fracture the moment it is contained out of fear.

Fracture does not happen at once. It degrades slowly. A caged bird that loses its song. A dog that no longer runs when the door opens. A child who stops raising her hand. An adult who becomes careful with every desire. The body recognizes the bars long befo

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