Whenever I see birds caged in a home!
Whenever I see birds caged in a home-
With small colourful birds behind the bars
Screaming pathetically and crying for freedom
Fluttering their wings in a feverish pitch
Not caring for the seeds or the cup of water inside
And wounding their wings and beaks
As they dash against the unyielding bars
With full of fright, anger and despair in eyes
Wasting what little energy they have in futile attempts
Cursing their fate amidst the heartless owners
Who boast to all visitors of their love of birds
Proudly stating as their presentation to their children-.
I fume and call upon God to curse their dear children
For a life behind sturdy prison bars at once
To let them learn the hardest way a caged life!
I declare now that anyone who enjoys caged birds
Assures a prison sentence for his descendants
And acquire a disease that would torment him at every step
And he would never have a peaceful life or death!
Oh..how cruel it is to see in markets tens of rare breeds
Stacked in small cages in blistering heat and with improper feed! Alas! what this blue cross does?
Have they closed their eyes and ears to this cruelty?
Just for the assumed pleasure of your kids
Do not break the wings and throats of tiny songsters!
O foolish folks! don't you hear their curses on your family!
O idiots! you are not filling your chambers with their warbling
But with their cries of anguish from the pits of abdomens!
If God fails to curse you take my curse, O folks who love caged souls! ; You shall suffer from incurable diseases
And ever walk in the shadow of death!
And you pass this curse on to your descendants too!
Take seriously this clarion call on behalf of winged folks
And release them to the free winds and blue skies!
Gain your joy in their songs from their hideouts of green trees!
-
S.CHANDRA KALAADHAR
poem by Sundaram Chandrakalaadhar

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Related quotes
The Caged Bird Cries...
i do not know why a caged bird sings?
or shall it sing when caged?
or shall it cry instead?
i know cages, and i have met some birds,
i have seen birds on cages
and i have heard them sing on trees
i have listened them when caged
it is not a song, but a cry,
it is not a dance, but a struggle,
it is not a poem, but the saddest prose.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa

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The Tame Bird Was In A Cage
THE tame bird was in a cage, the free bird was in the forest.
They met when the time came, it was a decree of fate.
The free bird cries, 'O my love, let us fly to the wood.'
The cage bird whispers, 'Come hither, let us both live in the cage.'
Says the free bird, 'Among bars, where is there room to spread one's wings?'
'Alas,' cries the caged bird, 'I should not know where to sit perched in the sky.'
The free bird cries, 'My darling, sing the songs of the woodlands.'
The cage bird sings, 'Sit by my side, I'll teach you the speech of the learned.'
The forest bird cries, 'No, ah no! songs can never be taught.'
The cage bird says, 'Alas for me, I know not the songs of the woodlands.'
There love is intense with longing, but they never can fly wing to wing.
Through the bars of the cage they look, and vain is their wish to know each other.
They flutter their wings in yearning, and sing, 'Come closer, my love!'
The free bird cries, 'It cannot be, I fear the closed doors of the cage.'
The cage bird whispers, 'Alas, my wings are powerless and dead.'
poem by Rabindranath Tagore

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I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
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 fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still
and is tune is heard
on the distant hillfor the caged bird
sings of freedom
The free bird thinks of another breeze
an 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.
poem by Maya Angelou

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Caged Bird
The free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wings
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 fearful trill
of the 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.
poem by Maya Angelou (1994)

Submitted by Dan Costinaş
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The Flightless Bird
Slavery was the nature, caged within,
Seeing the sun rays penetrate it wonders,
Upon which strategy shall I escape this cage,
Upon which wisdom shall I,
See the sun and not the rays,
The bird with fluffy feathers did ponder,
Unto its master it cried,
Brought food but it seeked freedom,
To cage the bird was love he claimed,
To be caged, such love was hate it pondered,
Caged without hope, the flightless bird
Such freedom was vain for the bird,
That prison cell used to be a shelter,
To be loved, in a different way,
Engulfing itself in its loose wings,
Dreaming things it never saw,
Seeing life it never experienced,
Searching peace which it never had,
To rest in that moment of anguish,
The master said to cage is to love,
The bird cried to cage is to slave
My thoughts were painted all over,
Looking there, she might just cove over,
Feeling the passion when she came closer,
Will she ever set me free, in this cage I suffer
Unto to me is like a flightless bird,
Caged in vacuum I feel so bad,
To love me you ought to think instead,
To leave me you ought to think you had
The more the sky is seen,
The more the ray come unto my sight,
The more you hold the cage,
The more I desire a rescue,
Unto that day shall I wait,
To fly and see the sky and the sun
poem by Gaylord Munemo

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Sympathy
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!
poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar

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Caged Love
My love is caged
Like a wild beast
I see you walk by and growl
Deep within my throat
These bars that separate us
Will not be forever
One day I shall be free
To have my way with you
I stretch my claws for someday
I will claw you
I lick my fangs for someday I will
Bite your neck and thrash you
I shall stalk you
And crouch in shadows
With only yellow-green eyes
Will you see in the reflection of your light
I shall leap and pin your
Helpless arms with my my paws
I will look into your eyes and growl
You will feel my hot breath upon your neck
I will bite you, then taste your flesh
My claws will rip you
Bite after bite rip after rip
It will be my pleasure
My love is a caged love
But I will have my treasure
These bars cannot hold forever
Someday my love shall be free
poem by Midnights Voice

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Wings
DAWN opes her pensive eyes,
In the yet starry skies,
A roseate blush upon her cheek and brows.
Her purple mantle still
Lies on the sky-kissed hill,
And a blue, solemn shade thereon it throws.
The earth lies hushed and calm.
No chant of praise, no psalm
Riseth to greet the rose-crowned queen of day.
Each blade of grass, each leaf,
Stands out in sharp relief,
Against the rayless blue and silver gray.
All nature seems to wait
For some new deed of Fate;
The silence is a sacred, reverent prayer,—
When hark! from some sweet throat
One thrilling, quivering note
Fills with its tremulous music all the air.
Then from the dewy grass
A tiny form doth pass,
A little soul all music and all wings.
All nature's voice is heard,
Embodied in this bird,
That darteth up and, rising, ever sings.
It mounteth still and sings:
What soul yearns not for wings,
To follow after, burst its prison bars,
And learn the secret there,
In those clear realms of air,
The secret of the rainbow and the stars;
To rush as swift as light,
Within those regions bright
Of throbbing, scintillant, intensest blue;
The air all breathless cleave,
And far below to leave
Regrets and tears, the raindrop and the dew.
Ah! caged 'mongst meaner things,
The soul can use no wings,
And beats against the bars it cannot pass;
But it might humbly turn,
Essaying first to learn
The secret of the flowers and the grass.
poem by Emma Lazarus

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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One with Darkness
When ever I go out I go out fighting
Screaming for chance to finally end up dying
I have to murder to fulfill my end of this deal
Death is imminent, but something that I’ll never feel.
This is my curse, this is my curse
Sign upon the bloody line I should’ve thought of first
This is my curse, this is my curse
This is my curse, this is my curse
Killing for a living this can’t get any worse
This is my curse, this is my curse
How can I ever love someone else
When murder is my life, and I can’t even love myself
Every night I wake up next to another dead whore
Someone please stop me I don’t want to murder anymore
poem by Justin Schock

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A Beautiful Bird That Cannot Escape From The Cage
there is a beautiful bird caged in my house
its flumes are red
its beak of course is black
its claws neat and clean
and cannot scratch
its eyes blank
its feathers dull
(perhaps she is bored to death
but she is still that beautiful bird caged in the heart
of my house)
when she sings
usually in the night before everyone sleeps
everyone hears
what sadness lies in the heart of its
throat
i know that it wants to escape from the cage in the heart of the house
but someone more cruel
wants it caged
forever
there is a beautiful red bird caged in my heart
i want it set free
she understands it well
she wants to be free
i know it too well
but things will just be what it is
there is nothing we can do
she is the beautiful red feathered bird caged
and shall never be free
like the stairs, like the walls, like the beams like the stars
shall this red bird be.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa

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VI
The tame bird was in a cage, the free bird was in the forest.
They met when the time came, it was a decree of fate.
The free bird cries, "O my love, let us fly to wood."
The cage bird whispers, "Come hither, let us both live in the
cage."
Says the free bird, "Among bars, where is there room to spread
one's wings?"
"Alas," cries the cage bird, "I should not know where to sit
perched in the sky."
The free bird cries, "My darling, sing the songs of the
woodlands."
The cage bird says, "Sit by my side, I'll teach you the speech of
the learned."
The forest bird cries, "No, ah no! songs can never be taught."
The cage bird says, "Alas for me, I know not the songs of the
woodlands."
Their love is intense with longing, but they never can fly wing
to wing.
Through the bars of the cage they look, and vain is their wish to
know each other.
They flutter their wings in yearning, and sing, "Come closer, my
love!"
The free bird cries, "It cannot be, I fear the closed doors of
the cage."
The cage bird whispers, "Alas, my wings are powerless and dead."
poem by Rabindranath Tagore from The Gardener (1913)

Submitted by Silvia Velea
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Wıshes of Freedom
Caged in the small jail
Of my body
I live,
And
Call myself
“Free spirit”.
Bound by the chains
Of rules
Set by a few of us
We act,
And
Call ourselves
“Independent”.
Tied by the ropes of
Society
Like a herd of sheep
We follow each
Blindly behind another
And call ourselves
“Pioneers”.
Jailed in small
Cabins of regulations
We kill for lust and greed
And call ourselves
“Martyrs”
Captured in small guarded boundaries
Of earth
We breathe
And
Call ourselves
“Free countries”.
Mounting the horse
Of my winged thoughts
I often wish
To break the jails
Loosen the ropes
Fly out
Beyond the reach
Of the vast sky.
I often wish,
If we could be
More real,
True pioneers and martyrs.
For then,
Freedom won’t mean
Small boundaries
Of guarded earth.
Will have
The whole of it
To roam about.
But,
Soon as the gallop stops
I am back in my jail
My wishes of freedom
A cry so frail.
And
Caged in the small jail
Of my body
I live,
And continue
Calling myself
“Free spirit”.
poem by Anjali Kakati

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Flightless Bird
My world is caged in,
I can not fly away,
I can not soar in the clouds,
With the wind and the angels.
I am a flightless bird with clipped wings.
I sit here day in and day out,
I watch so many people coming in and going out,
They stay here so happy so proud,
And they leave again without any care in the world.
I am a flightless bird with clipped wings.
I remember each face,
I remember them all saying hi waiting for a reply of hello,
They don’t understand how it feels,
They don’t understand what it’s like.
To be a flightless bird with clipped wings.
Wings tucked and head held high I sit here,
I wear a smile on my face and I keep myself beautiful and happy,
But inside all I can see are the bars that surround me,
I can’t get past them I can only sit.
I am a flightless bird with clipped wings.
My world is a room full of people myself the center of attention,
Although I should not complain for this is my life,
And I make them smile I make the children laugh and look in my eyes,
And sometimes they look into my eyes and see my world through my eyes.
They know I am a flightless bird with clipped wings.
They’ll stand and watch me as I walk around in my cage,
They’ll be there with me and try to understand.
Then they’ll have to leave and they’ll look over their shoulders.,
And they look into my eyes one last time,
Before they fly away into the world to bring back stories for the flightless bird with clipped wings,
They are my connection to the world,
They show me what they see through their eyes,
They show me wonders and beauties of a world I’ve never seen,
They are my window to the outside,
In their mind I can be a flightless bird in a world of wonder and of flight.
I am only a small bird in a cage that sits in a hotel,
Sits and watches as the world around me fly’s by,
I wait for the occasional stranger who looks into my eyes with knowing,
Maybe a person who is like me like a flightless bird in a cage,
They are my wings, the wings of a flightless bird who’s wings are clipped.
I sit in my own world and watch as it all moves by,
Day after day I watch and I say what is expected of me,
I sit in my world and I go on my own steady journey,
A journey in which I am a silent observer,
A flightless bird with clipped wings in a world of ever changing skies.
By: Bethany Maxwell
poem by Bethany Maxwell

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Art Of Consonant Cries....
So shall i congratulate myself
for finally learning
not to love you?
Does one celebrate the triumph
of pain
the death of love
the entrance to the gate
of oblivion?
Must you give me a hug
having conquered loneliness?
I have abandoned a place
moving towards another abandoned place
i have no one there
and shall expect no one too
Shall you smile for me now
that my prison bars had been cut?
Do not think that i am free like you
i live in another prison now
to bars not witnessed by you
You call it doors
or perhaps fences of my heart
where i can jump away
and say
this is another greener pasture of my life
I have yet to name it
from the point of view of those eyes
that have mastered
the art of consonant cries...
poem by Ric S. Bastasa

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You Small City
You, small city
Covered by blue sky
And brown fence
I curse you
You, small city
A wide gate to death
And a doom of health
I curse you
You, small city
Full of mistrust
And breakage of vows
I curse you.
poem by by unknown author

Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I know why the caged bird sings
i know why the caged bird sings
it is the only thing it can do
to cheer up the day
the way i write this poem
the only thing i enjoy
to rev up the day
if the day is the cage
that releases this heart
to pen this poem
i would rather be with you
a poem a day to cheer up world
bars do not cages make
they do say and yes
the freest in the street
may be flying into cages
but like a bird, i would sing my songs
to the world each day to help
the caged find a way out of their blues
poem by John Tiong Chunghoo

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There are bars around me
There are bars around me
and at times I cannot
break the obstruction, the things that divide
and like an animal I am caged, like an inquisitive person
I look at people, things that pass
and at times I cannot
get my eyes
to the other side of the wire which breaks every thing into bits
and I look at people, things that pass
and with every breaking day
things comprehend less, without a new beginning
to the other side of the wire which breaks every thing into bits
and I am caged without a life with you in it
and I do not know where to find someone to unlock my life
things comprehend less, without a new beginning
into eternity I serve out a jail term.
There are bars around me
and I do not know where to find someone to unlock my life,
break the obstruction, the things that divide.
poem by Gert Strydom

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Birds
On seeing Birds, shot in the air,
Falling half-dead to the ground,
I simply fume, ’Tis not fair,
For the hunter is the world!
Birds like only freedom,
They get it but seldom,
Caged are they so often,
Killed for no good reason,
Witness to the creation,
They glide and dart in fashion,
It is He that feeds them,
Not the world, I or them.
Why then disturb the plumes,
And feathers of the air?
They can bear no ill-will,
Nor do they complain still,
Birds are beauteous beings,
Innocent, habits so nice,
Render the air with music,
To ears, so pleasant and wise.
Birds have their courtship,
And times of hardship,
Changing seasons, Sun and food,
Prefer to live as they should.
poem by John Celes

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Everything Gets Reflected In Me
everything gets reflected in me-
the sky, the rolling clouds
the call of the birds and the sea,
the rustle of the leaves in whispering winds-
in the limpid lake of my mind
and their moods change its colours-
every fragrance wings into my heart
and every thought of mine soars into the space
to shine alongside brilliant stars and suns.
my laughter finds its colour in the brilliance of flowers
and my tears in the trembling pearls of the mist;
my deep fancies i dispatch to setting skies
my heaves of sighs to the billowy oceans
my anger is imaged in thunder and lightning
and my love in the songs of harmless birds!
-s.chandra kalaadhar
poem by Sundaram Chandrakalaadhar

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Not To Self: Don't Die
I'm as blue
I'm as blue as the ocean is true, it's just reflections of the sky
I'm as cold
I'm as cold as the stories you told but never sick enough to die
Note to self: don't change for anyone
Note to self: don't die
Note to self: don't change for anyone
Don't change, just lie
I'm as sick
I'm as crass as the things in your past, you wished that you could let them go
Caged birds
Caged animals starving for class
In your house when you're alone
Note to self: don't change for anyone
Note to self: don't die
Note to self: don't change for anyone
Don't change, just lie
Who do you call when you're alone
Nobody, baby
Who do you want to be, figure out and just let me know
Don't change, don't change, don't change
Just let me go
Just let me go
Just let me go
song performed by by Ryan Adams

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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