Caged Bird

 

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

 

The Civil Rights Movement played a huge role in the 1950’s and 1960’s, and Maya Angelou was greatly involved with it. She wrote Caged Bird as a metaphor to describe the freedoms of a white person versus those of a black person. She begins with the life of a free bird, “A free bird leaps / on the back of the wind / and floats downstream / till the current ends” (Angelou 1-4). She describes how the bird has freedom, and that it can fly all around. This is similar to the life of a white person during the 50’s and 60’s. White people were able to go into whatever building they wanted to, were never questioned by police, and they were never attacked by other humans. The life of a free bird has no struggle, it can do what it wants and no one can tell it otherwise.
As well as the metaphor comparing the life of a white man to a free bird, the same metaphor can be made of a caged bird to am African American man. During the 50’s and 60’s, African Americans struggled to get through a single day without having anyone yell or throw something at them. With the inability to fight back, African Americans built up anger inside them, similarly to the caged bird. Angelou describes this pain, “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” (8-13). The bird was tired, beaten, and filled with rage, but because he is caged there is nothing he can do about it. He must suffer his fate, and only hope that things will get better. The metaphor Angelou made helps the readers feel what the bird feels, and therefore, understand the emotions African Americans had during the time of the Civil Rights Movement.
The poem then comes back to the life of the free bird and how marvelous its life is. The free bird has so many things, like freedom, food, and opportunities. The free bird can soar through the air and have the time of its life. The fourth stanza describes, “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” (22-25). The bird has fat worms waiting and claims that the world is his. White people had no restrictions, the world was there’s, unlike African Americans. The caged bird watches all of the things whites have, and does not receive any sort of freedom. The caged bird sits and suffers, like the African Americans. Although they suffer, there still is hope, for Angelou writes, “and his tune is heard / on the distant hill / for the caged bird sings of freedom” (34-36). The caged bird still has a hint of hope, as he sings for the freedom of the free bird. African Americans came together with hope for a better future in order to be like the free bird.