The In-between

I was born
between the land
and the sea

In a world not made
for serpents
like me

A dancing fish
caught
in a golden net

In a land built on hills
of glass houses
and dreams unmet

Where people look
but cannot see, they hear
but do not listen

To the sad wailings
of the ghosts below
Oh, it bothers them so

Those cumbersome
shadows, always making
too much noise

And never letting
the kind birds
fly…for we do fly

When the cage is
large enough
and nice enough

We can spread
our wings quite far
our hands wide

That it can feel
just like freedom
I promise!

And isn’t that enough?

To live in, to own
such a big cage? A safe
cage? An easy cage?

Why must
those annoying sirens keep
beating their chests?

The constant wailing
in our ears, drowning our lives
with their sorrow and misery

Their song, that damn
song, and the constant
drumming

Always making
so much noise, for us
pretty birds

The ones born
between the land
and the sky

In a world made
for happy jays
jumping so high

We hardly even feel
the pain
of our clipped wings

And call it fashion.


© 2025 Chenda Duong

Note: After Margaret Atwood’s poem: “Siren Song” (1974-1976)