A fire once roared beneath my chest,
Untamed, wild—fierce unrest.
Yet now it waits in measured calm,
A prisoner within my palm.
Embers flicker, whispers fade,
Bound by walls that fear has made.
I feel the heat, yet speak no word,
A voice subdued, a cry unheard.
Not numb, not void, but held in place,
A storm confined in silent space.
A breath unbroken, a step restrained,
A soul too tempered, too well-trained.
The world sees quiet, poised and still,
It does not glimpse the smothered will.
For in my heart, the flames still weave,
Though trapped in cold—I cannot leave.
Perhaps one day, these walls will break,
The flame released, the echoes quake.
But for now, the balance stays,
A captive fire, a muted blaze.