Cabinets and Shelves

I am a worn compendium,

Full of trite, flowery words,

I am a reinforced steel cage,

holding a flock of giddy birds,

I hold them close,

it's safe in here,

though I'd love to set them free,

if they slipped off the page,

or through the bars of this cage,

would they ever return to me?

---

I am a simple codex,

bearing crude ciphers and glyphs,

I am a haunted harbor,

in a port town beneath the cliffs,

I am a fabled creature,

a hazy shadow in the night,

tucked between the pixels,

hiding in plain sight.

--

In my dreams, there are no faces,

in my dreams, there are no voices,

just toothless grins and tidal waves,

colliding worlds and hard pressed choices,

and bottles,

and cabinets,

and shelves.