I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,
And the faint perfume from its chalice steals—
I know what the caged bird feels!
I know why the caged bird beats his wing
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling
When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;
And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a keener sting—
I know why he beats his wing!
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,—
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings—
I know why the caged bird sings!
Notes
This is the poem that inspired Maya Angelou's poem.
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/13414-Dr--Maya-Angelou-I-Know-Why-The-Caged-Bird-Sings
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Dear Paul
I've read your poem a hundred times in the last thirty years. I remember coming across your works those many years ago.
It was the first time I believed in serendipity.
It would thrill you to know that today we have an African-American President of the United States.
We miss you, and cannot think of American poetry without thinking of you.
John -
This is indeed an excellent poem!
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So beautiful in so many ways and I agree, so beautifully creative and poetic to relate the oppression of slavery to that of a caged bird. There is emotion in every word. Truly poignant, this.
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5 years on
I've re-read the comment I made 5 years ago and I can answer my own question. This poem, in particular the final stanza was in fact the catalyst for May Angelou to write her work: 'I know why the caged bird sings' she also gives Dunbar full credit for his inspiration.
This too is a poem to make one think deeply and to understand the connection. ~ Von -
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Bliss
This is my favorite of Dunbar's.
"When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;"
Is that beautiful? And the way he worked the refrain line... what a piece of poetry. -
A Great Poem
I love the extended metaphor. how he uses a caged bird to represent slavery/slave. there is a lot of figurative language in this poem. Metaphors and alliteration. he did a good job representing sorrow of the "caged bird". -
I wonder if this beautiful, poignant poem was the inspiration for Dr. May Angelou's 'I know why the caged bird sings'. Mr Dunbar inspired her so much - they are both of equal value and carry similar metaphorical messages.
Von
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