Laughter Echoes Wherever's Life

[kolemath]

one side of the cage
cards turning spades played
prison dogs in uniform      

other side of the cage
uniform blue offices no windows
the cold floor everywhere

[Sparkydashforth]

This is starkly beautiful in its simplicity.
 
one side of the cage............................immediately the reader is presented with a sharp division,
                                                        yet it is not a black and white picture.
cards turning spades played...................the image leads us to hands, 'spades' redolent of excessive as in 'in-spades' and power
prison dogs in uniform  ..........................surreal but so apt. Guard dogs striving to be human    '

other side of the cage
uniform blue offices no windows............like the police 'blue' and cell image
the cold floor everywhere.................a frightening end to this outstanding work.

[kolemath]

Thanks for being so generous, spark.

[Lizzie]

Hi kole. I keep coming back to this one. I love the title -- it's beautiful in and of itself, but also sets us up for how to read and interpret the body of the poem. Very good.

one side of the cage -- reminiscent of another title, "I know why the caged bird sings."
cards turning spades played
prison dogs in uniform -- this is the only line that confuses me; I'm thinking that the prisoners are on one side of the bars and the officers are on the other, but perhaps everyone is inside the cell playing cards together?

other side of the cage
uniform blue offices no windows -- I like how you used uniform again but in a different sense. I like how you used the color blue to signal that we're looking at the law enforcement side of things. I wish there was a contrasting color reference in the previous stanza, although maybe there's one in the black of spades.
the cold floor everywhere -- intriguing line, open to many different interpretations. I read it as emptiness and a sense of desolation.

I come back periodically and find new possibilities for meaning. It's fresh each time.

Well done.