Voluntary Captivity: The Golden Cage of Modernity

Modern life and the contemporary economy—
Where consumption is the religion, and profit the ultimate truth.
I stand amidst the bustling market, lost and content,
Drowned in the "eighty-four delicacies" of comfort and luxury.

I possess wings, yet the sky feels like a stranger,
I have the strength to fly, yet I am in love with the cage.
This colourful prison of gold
Is safer than any dungeon guarded by sentries.

For I am the prisoner, and I am the gaoler;
Fearful of freedom, I have turned the lock from within.

An offering of modernity, this voluntary exile—
Where within the golden touch of convenience,
My wings are slowly growing heavy.
A strange and secure prison indeed,
Where I, the parrot,
Have locked myself inside, leaving liberation at the door.