A response to Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”
The free bird glides high on the currents of the wind.
Into a vastness that seems without end, wings slicing through
the rays of the sun, as he claims the sky as his own.
But there’s a bird that knows only the narrowest views, slants
of steel is all he sees through. Wings clipped from
rage, feet strapped and encaged. To his anger, he has
become enslaved. Yet, his voice can’t be tamed, so he
opens his mouth to sing.
The caged bird sings of life’s ills, things unknown yet yearned
for still. His song falls on deaf ears, a song of freedom
that no one hears.
The free bird envisions the next breeze, to soar upon
with ease, high above the trees. He has everything he
needs.
But the caged bird stands in a graveyard of murdered
dreams, haunted by things never seen, as the from
the shadows scream shattering his thoughts of being
free so he opens his mouth to sing.
To sing of life’s ills, unknown yet yearned for still.
His song falls on deaf ears, a song of freedom
that no on hears. | AH
"But there’s a bird that knows only the narrowest views, slants
of steel is all he sees through. Wings clipped from
rage, feet strapped and encaged. To his anger, he has
become enslaved. Yet, his voice can’t be tamed, so he
opens his mouth to sing."
And, he still sings. So many things to ponder in this poem. Thanks.