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Maya Angelou (April 4, 1928)
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I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
The free bird leaps
on the back of the win
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and is tune is heard
on the distant hillfor the caged bird
sings of freedom
The free bird thinks of another breeze
an the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
Read poems about / on: freedom, sky, sun, wind, dream, tree
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This is my favourite poem of all time, a very talented lady.......
Our Rabindranath has such a poem in Bangla language on caged bird and free bird. But it is quite a different poem. Both are beautiful.
maya your poems really is good its like i can understand.
a beautiful poem written with true understanding of history's opressed
masterpiece!
I am completely moved by this poem
Amazing. Maya Angelou is the best poet of all time in my opinion.
The caged bird sings for freedom, same as our tamed souls... Thank you maya.
She didn't steal the line, she was inspired by Paul Laurence Dunbar's poem. The caged bird is obviously a metaphor for oppressed people. If we think about it long enough, we could all write a poem about Why the Caged Bird Sings. It is a concept that breeds a lot of thought.
The title is stolen directly from a line in the poem, Sympathy, by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) .
I can be
a sparrow
if you promise
not to be
a cage