To A Caged Little Corella Poem by Francis Duggan

It's cruel that you should be kept in a cage
That you be forced to live in such a way
Your kin birds many miles from here live free
But here in small wired prison you must stay.

You call aloud and listen for reply
But little corellas living nowhere near
The nearest flock in dry country live free
One hundred K's as crow might fly from here.

One such as you not meant to live alone
As you belong to social family
But for man's amusement you're kept in a cage
In garden where wild singing birds live free.

With scarce enough room to flap your snow white wings
You yearn for freedom of the open sky
Here in green garden where the myna sings
And all winged creatures their freedom enjoy.

No creature should be born or kept in cage
As death sounds far nicer than captivity
And captive corella's instincts tell him he
Should be with kin up in the dry country.