Conformity

They stand, faceless, bound in time,
Strings are pulled, yet none are mine.
A melody played, but not their song,
Silent notes in a world gone wrong.

The cage is open, the dove still waits,
Chained to hands of ticking fates.
Eyes are covered, truths unseen,
Lost in echoes of the machine.

Portraits painted, stories erased,
Souls replaced, but none misplaced.
Bound by rules they dare not flee,
A symphony of conformity.

• EyEm