Hidden, untouchable, inside my safe place,
Exempt from all their burdens,
I was endlessly free.

Then a peremptory voice invaded my chamber.
I tried to shut my ears, but it echoed inside my shell
Until my treacherous skin began to long for warmth,
My eyes became impatient of the dark,
And my limbs of idleness.

Struggling, unwilling, I tottered toward the light,
And then they caught me,
Peeled off my defenses one by one,
And left me weeping in the precious, life-giving sun.