Why the Caged Bird Sings

[Dark Muse]

Why the Caged Bird Sings

Somber eyes
watching through the bars
while some may ask
what provokes a caged bird
to sing; perhaps hope for another day

Where somewhere
the wind blows freely,
weeping guised in the notes
that to an untrained ear
take on a happy gate

Who hast heart
to recognize the mournful cry,
the stoic bars more
then just a barrier

Waiting inside
with a still beating heart
touched by sunshine
that only feels cold

Perhaps it conspires
with the spirits, lifting its voice
to something distant
and far away

Take in dreams
on the wings of wild cousins,
who can truly contemplate
why the caged bird sings
if they ever dare
to ask the question.

[PrinceMyshkin]

Take in dreams
on the wings of wild cousins,
who can truly contemplate
why the caged bird sings
if they ever dare
to ask the question.

is SUCH a good strong conclusion! (But I wonder if "Take in dreams" was perhaps meant to be "Taken in dreams"?)

[Dark Muse]

Thank you, and acutally it is meant to be "Take in"


Take in dreams
on the wings of wild cousins,

The idea was, the wild birds, take in, or carry away the dreams of the caged bird upon thier wings.

[Louisos]

Great theme, language and ideas. There is nothign technically wrong with the poem either. However something isn't quite right. I think for me it might be that poetry is about density. This poem covers a few ideas in six stanzas. The ideas are great, but the longer you draw them out for the less poignient they become. It is still a very, very good poem.

[Virgil]

I'm not sure if you realize Muse, but that phrase ("Why the caged bird sings") has entered the public domain based on a book by Maya Angelou. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Know_Why_the_Caged_Bird_Sings. You automatically draw attention to it and if you're not brilliant with it, the notion will inevitably be that you stole it. I'm not saying you did, I'm just pointing out the reality of duplicating something that has some level of popularity.

[Dark Muse]

Well I thank you for the information, but if that is what others are inclined to think then so be it, I have never been cowed by fears of the opinons of others.

I am not going to apologize for this poem becasue I know it is a work of my own, and I wrote it for my own reasons with my own intentions, and that is all that matters to me.

[Pendragon]

I hardly think Muse's wonderful little poem could be considered a ripoff on a biography written in graphic detail, Virgil.

[Virgil]

I hardly think Muse's wonderful little poem could be considered a ripoff on a biography written in graphic detail, Virgil.

No I wasn't claiming ripoff. Just that any reader will assume an allusion, and if there isn't one then the reader will go away disenchanted.