Feb 9, 2025
My discordant cries echoed off the iron bars of my prison, the one you made just to house this small, ruffled mess. That was when you noticed me. You cooed, "I love you," while telling me to pluck out my feathers and leave them on the floor of my cage. I didn't mishear you, did I? You said those words, smiling as you admired my bald patches and strangled warbles. It hurt to pull out my pretty, royal blue feathers, but what choice did I have? I couldn't bear to see myself, but it hardly mattered when you said you loved me. I had to hate myself so loudly for you to love me And therein lied the tragedy.