All my life I’ve known that inside me is a tiger. All my life I’ve sown what’s inside of me on fire. Outside my crate is a town terrified by my hide. Beyond the stage are clowns who sight me as a prize. I want to declare my desires. It is not these bars I want burning nightly. I do not wish to lose my stripes like the lion, or align my body with the trees. I wish to be more than free. What I want to burn is the curtain. To blaze the gauze through which people see. What I wish to have remain is the imperfect circus. Who stroke my fur knowing the cage is me.