The caged bird sings

[Massinah]

A free bird leaps on the back of the wind
and floats downstream till the current ends
and dips his wing in the orange suns 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 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.

The free bird thinks of another breeze
and 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.

Maya Angelou

[sue]

Thank you for posting that Massinah, Maya Angelou is one of my favourite poets, I have two books that may interest some if they like her poetry And still I Rise and I shall not be Moved.

For those interested this is from the preface to one of them,

Maya Angelou was born in 1928 in St Louis, Missouri. After the break up of her parent's marriage she and her beloved brother Bailey went to live with their grandmother, whose general store was the centre of life for the Black community in Stamps, Arkansas. At eight Maya was raped by her mother's boyfriend and for the next five years she became mute. In her teens she and Bailey moved to California to live with their mother, and at sixteen, having graduated from school, Maya gave birth to her son, Guy.

In the years that followed she has been a waitress, singer, actress, dancer, Black activist, editor, as well as mother. She has had, as she describes it "a roller coaster life... there has been this disappointment and that satisfaction, and then it begins all over again",
In her twenties she toured Europe and Africa in Porgy and Bess. Moving to New York, she joined Harlem Writers Guild and continued to earn her living as a night-club singer and performer in Genet's The Blacks. She became involved in Black struggles in the 1960's and then spent several years in Ghana as editor of African Review.

Maya Angelou has produced several collections of poetry of which And Still I Rise and Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie have been published by Virago. With verse by Maya Angelou and illustrations by Tom Feelings, the two have collaborated in Now Sheba Sings the Song (Virago).
The five volumes of her highly acclaimed autobiography, I know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Gather Together in My Name, Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas, The Heart of a Woman and All God's Children Need Travelling Shoes are also publiched by Virago.
Maya Angelou now has a life-time appointment as Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.

[Massinah]

Thankyou Sue for that im glad you like her she too is one of my favourites thankyou for sharing her info too .

[HEPZIBAH]

Bump - ref 'Animals'