Fear is the cage without bars that keeps me locked in..
I am a prisoner of this bully.
I bend high and low and backwards to avoid his bad moods and ugly words..
I have lost sight of who I am.
I do my utmost to please him, he who can never be pleased.
I have lost sight of who I am..
I suppress my own uniqueness to mold myself into the type of person he says he admires and dreams of..
I have lost sight of who I am..
Tonight the tables have turned..
It is not all about him anymore..
It is about time..
It is all about me now, my life without this bully..
I stood up to him.
I am learning about me now..
I am beginning to like who I am..
~Trapped, by Lisa C
“I want my poem and photo to inspire parents to think in the long range direction of how their kids will turn out as adults ..My poem is a snapshot of my life in a close relationship (marriage), because I didn’t pick up good skills on how to stand up to obnoxious people/bullies.”
You Will Rise Project 
Lisa, this is glorious! It's a beautiful thing, that you have found and are finding that strength in yourself!I learned how to stand up to bullies etc in school, including the authority-figure kind.But standing up to someone closer to you, learning to see what they're actually piling on top of you, how their currents bear you to rougher and rougher waters.. it's very hard. But once you start to see the bad that's hidden behind familiar patterns… it's like seeing the world for the first time. I've worried about having kids someday, because I'm half afraid that some of what I was faced with at home might jump out of me when I least expect it, or realize it. But I've thought long and hard for years on how I'd like to raise kids, if I'm ever to be a dad. Thank you for this poem! And may many many others see it, and your annotation, and feel the words deeply!~Eoghan