A.N.: Written for a challenge on St Mungo's Forums. The prompt was the Shrieking Shack and poetry, so here is my entry.
So hard to forget these walls,
Always straight, always solid,
Always there to remind me to be strong.
.:X:.
The windows were my escape,
Looking out onto the village.
Witches and wizards bustled and hustled about their day.
Here I was alone.
But here I would be safe.
Freedom I could live without.
But safety...
.:X:.
This house, this shack, where I'm confined,
I cried and pleaded for fresh air,
For a companion to play chess.
This prison, I can't leave it.
I scream and howl to be freed.
Every night, every week, every month.
Til I am free.
Safety I could live without.
But freedom...
.:X:.
I know now freedom will not come.
But still I scream. I still howl.
If only to remind them I'm still here.
.:X:.
Years, decades have passed.
I don't scream now. I don't howl.
I can hardly see outside the windows,
Thick with dust and grime.
Witches and wizards still laugh and play.
None of them forgetting.
How I wish they would.