Pacing The Cage
By: bruce cockburn
Sunset is an angel weeping
Holding out a bloody sword
No matter how I squint I cannot
Make out what its pointing toward
Sometimes you feel like youve lived too long
Days drip slowly on the page
And you catch yourself
Pacing the cage
Ive proven who I am so many times
The magnetic strips worn thin
And each time I was someone else
And everyone was taken in
Powers chatter in high places
Stir up eddies in the dust of rage
Set me to pacing the cage
I never knew what you all wanted
So I gave you everything
All that I could pillage
All the spells that I could sing
Its as if the thing were written
In the constitution of the age
Sooner or later youll wind up
Pacing the cage
Sometimes the best map will not guide you
You cant see whats round the bend
Sometimes the road leads through dark places
Sometimes the darkness is your friend
Today these eyes scan bleached-out land
For the coming of the outbound stage
Pacing the cage
Pacing the cage
song performed by by Jimmy Buffett
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Related quotes
Tiger in a Cage
I am a tiger in a cage
Pacing up and down
Trying hard to stem my rage
Growling with a scowl and frown
I am a tiger in a cage
Here by my honour bound
Doing my very best to gauge
Just when they will come ‘round
Although my weekly pay is nil
And my hours hard to manage
Because I am their friend I will
Remain the tiger in the cage
poem by Russel Tanner
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I Sit Here...
I sit here trapped
I feel like I'm walking
The lonely pace of a Tiger
I hate this cage
I put myself into
I long for the
Days of Yesterday
When I roamed the
Wild-side.
I was like the Tiger
I had Freedom.
I had Power
Now I am trapped
pacing and pacing
In a cage being
Gawked at and pointed at
By nobody but stranger nobodies
I walk and strut and sleep
With nothing but thoughts now
'Who am I? '
I ask roaringly
But who is listening?
Am I a Tiger now?
I walk and think and talk
I am confused.
How can I find
My life so complex
And boring now?
All I see around me
are buildings and cars
The air I breath
Is polluted and toxic
Am I a Tiger now?
Thoughts whirling
And spinning my life
Into spirals pulling
Me and spinning me
I feel like the wind
Unsupported and invisible
I spin and spin gaining
speed and power
I am now a powerful
Tornado turning and
Destructing
Powerful enough to
Kill, even to injure
Gives a thrill
Am I a Tiger now?
Or am I just a breath of wind?
poem by Alicia Erickson
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A Storm Is Gathering
The calm before the break
A building electricity in the air
The howling wind is restless
Like a predator pacing a cage
Barely contained
It waits
Biding its time before
It finally strikes
The clouds are
Gathering 'round
Encircling with
An iron grip
The smell of rain
Permeates everything
A storm is gathering
poem by Autumn Winds
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Inside A Cage
he is inside a cage
and he does not really want to be inside the cage forever
the cage however is different
it is not locked and no one guards it
he is free to go out and get in anytime
this cage of his choice
he wants to get out of this cage for good
he just can't
he loves to be caged somehow
despite the protest of his reason
he goes out to free himself but only after a while
he gets inside the cage again
in fact he is more inside it and locking himself in it even
he loves what this cage can provide him
his sense of privacy his taste for an enclosure
his genes his sense of wanting to be alone
his beloved prison where he keeps his sins
it is where his ecstasies are hatched and grown
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Light The Heart
Time pushed me into dark
It closed all the doors
And locked me in cage
For days and months
With no rays of light
I lived in with a hope
In that cage for months
For a light of hand
To reach my darkness
And to pull into light
Days and months passed
In darkness and hope
No light of hand came
To pull me into light
Slowly my hope died
I stopped to look
For light of hand
And started to think
How to light darkness?
How to light darkness?
Finally the light came
In my cage of darkness
Its not light of hand
Its a light of lights
That showed me light
It divvy's any darkness
It unlocks any cage
It lights all the time
It always helps me out
Its a light of my heart
poem by Kranthi Pothineni
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Time Is Not Our Cage (Gabry Ponte Power Cut)
We are flying
and we're flying high till the end
We are men without an age
Time is not out cage
and forever we go on
We are flying
and we're flying high till the end
We are men without an age
Time is not out cage
Born to be forever young
Children of eternity
Always searching for a faster race
Defeating what time wants to be
There's no king
In this place
Like a star that belongs to the sky
And the times are our names in your mind
Our souls are the wings as we fly
Against time
We are flying
and we're flying high till the end
We are men without an age
Time is not out cage
and forever we go on
We are flying
and we're flying high till the end
We are men without an age
Time is not out cage
Born to be forever young
Just like an old song that's playing a tune
That revives what seems lost in the past
With dignity fighting for whom
In a way
Wants to last
Like a friendship of 10 years ago
That is frozen inside of a picture
That tomorrow can cancel and go
Against time
We are flying
and we're flying high till the end
We are men without an age
Time is not out cage
and forever we go on
We are flying
and we're flying high till the end
We are men without an age
Time is not out cage
born to be forever young
Free as a soul is
Far beyond all the boundries of time
Its you mark that lives on
We are flying
and we're flying high till the end
We are men without an age
Time is not out cage
and forever we go on
We are flying
and we're flying high till the end
We are men without an age
Time is not out cage
born to be forever young
song performed by by Eiffel 65
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Unleash It From Its Cage
That variety of life that you are,
Unleash it from its cage.
Those expectations unsatisfied,
By restricting limits!
Why do people invite...
A lesser appetite of life.
The abundance that Mother Nature has shown,
To be known as a given.
Is under utilized.
Why do those prefer to hide...
Following with a focused-ness,
Fixed upon another's...
Footsteps,
That may or may not appear to glide.
From shadows come out,
To be whoever you are.
If you've decided to shine in light...
Why are you still in rehearsal?
Pacing back and forth as if...
You are afraid of the audience.
They have no clue,
As to which lines learned belong to you.
That variety of life that you are,
Unleash it from its cage.
Turn and read a new chapter.
Those you have already read...
Need not your current routine to relive them.
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Our Bird In Your Cage
we have this bird
we both own it and love it and care for it
our bird
and you have this cage
that you only own
golden, new and strong and as you say it
so reliable
that when our bird is in that cage
it will be safe
and cannot escape
we feed this bird together
and give it water and birdseeds
and a place of twigs and swing
where the bird can play
and perch upon
like it is on a tree
days and years
we keep this bird in your cage
and we see it is dying
and wanting to be free
yet you say, this sickness is just temporary
time heals what has wounded it
and shall forget the power of its wings
days and more years
we keep this bird in your cage
and i have not listened at all
to the sad song of that bird
her waning chirps
her weakened wings
her way of losing hold to the dreams of its wings
today we see this bird is dead
but you have no sadness at all
you say, you will buy another bird
again to be kept in your cage
i could have told you
i am the bird in your cage and i too have forgotten the power of
my wings
i could have told you, i have long died
and have forgotten what freedom is, what love is, what i am
in the first place. How can i ever tell you?
you are my cage.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Chronicles of A Day Stranded In Nature Part 3 Softer
Run here
Workout there
Take a whole wad of hair
Smack it on your knee
All command given to me
Now please give me less
Now after I have done all the rest
There are less and less
As tomorrows fly by
So high in the sky
So high I cannot reach
Wishing someone teach
Me to touch the stars, Iest I die
And be grounded... never thought how to fly
Because I've always been kept in this cage
As i build up more rage
Yet less commands they are soft now
Sometimes I ask how
Yet i lay in the ranks lay in the cage
Lay in wait
Open the cage...remove.. wait
No commands, let the beast out
I know it won't happen, but maybe there's doubt
But if one day
It could get out and get away...no
Not today
not today though... though i lay in wait
Wishing to clean the slate
If i start new
Then rage would take over, and a red hue
Would emerge and take over my sight
I would let it out happily
But i will not let
This stage be set
I will keep all feelings in
For now..
Outside I think of this...
Softer I must let.. I must never let it out
poem by David Knox
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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One Chance
We have one chance.
One chance to get everything right.
We have one chance, one chance.
And if we're lucky we might.
My friends, my habits, my family,
they mean so much to me.
I just don't think that it's right.
I've seen so many ships sail in,
just to head back out again and go off sinking.
I'm just a box in a cage. I'm just a box in a cage.
I'm just a box, just a box in a cage.
I'm just a box, just a box in a cage.
I'm just a box, just a box in a cage.
I'm just a box in a cage.
Didn't mean to laugh, didn't know I had.
Didn't know the better part of what you said
cuz in your head you are not home.
Didn't get the joke. Didn't mean to poke another,
just to save myself
from some something something or another one.
Well walk home.
I'm just a box in a cage. I'm just a box in a cage.
I'm just a box, just a box in a cage.
I'm just a box in a cage.
I'm just a box, just a box in a cage.
I'm just a box, just a box in a cage.
I'm just a box in a cage.
We have one chance,
one chance to get everything right.
My friends, my habits, my family,
they mean so much to me.
I just don't think that it's right.
I've seen so many ships sail in,
just to head back out again and go off sinking.
song performed by by Modest Mouse
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Explorations: XXV
a journey,
an evolution...
a life long forgotten
i lived
as many times as i died...
i laughed as many times as i wept..
i rejoiced as many times as i suffered..
ironically, every time i emerged a shade better,
not bitter, whatever i went through..
there's always a trade off...
though i lost mostly
unknowingly or knowingly
i traded the security
of a cage and gave up the sky...
no regrets...
no remorse...
one always gets
what one asks for, i suppose
did i ever live the way i wished
is it possible to live the way one wishes?
will i ever move out of the cage
i confined myself to?
am i not habituated to the cage?
isn't that simpler and easier way to live...?
only a free-bird knows of the difficulties
of the endless skies it flies across
let's see, my friend...
this journey
this evolution
poem by Indira Babbellapati
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A Cage in the Bird
he was out of the cage
as he was treated as a bird
and he sings
to the sky
but then he had loved the cage so well
and the hands of the master
that feed him
that every morning listens to his song
he had missed sorely so well
and so back into that cage
he flies in
for the master had left it all open
he sings again
concluding that the cage must also
be the home
for freedom
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A caged bird`s plea
In the cage for years,
this cage my home,
a wingless bird
forgotten how to fly
You have cut my wings Oh! man
in the cage let me be,
my folks are away, know not where
do not set me free
poem by Dr Madhavi Grace
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Patsy In Green - Do Yourself A Favour B-side
I heal the waiting hand
I cannot understand
I feel away again
I hear the crashing waves
I fear not for where she waits
I cannot play again
Oh, I know the reason why
I know the reason
Pacing up and facing off
Pacing up and facing off
(extremely dodgy transcript!!!)
song performed by by Ocean Colour Scene
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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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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Jackson Cage
Driving home she grabs something to eat
Turns a corner and drives down her street
Into a row of houses she just melts away
Like the scenery in another mans play
Into a house where the blinds are closed
To keep from seeing things she dont wanna know
She pulls the blinds and looks out on the street
The cool of the night takes the edge off the heat
In the jackson cage
Down in jackson cage
You can try with all your might
But youre reminded every night
That you been judged and handed life
Down in jackson cage
Every day ends in wasted motion
Just crossed swords on the killing floor
To settle back is to settle without knowing
The hard edge that youre settling for
Because theres always just one more day
And its always gonna be that way
Little girl youve been down here so long
I can tell by the way that you move you belong to
The jackson cage
Down in jackson cage
And it dont matter just what you say
Are you tough enough to play the game they play
Or will you just do your time and fade away
Down into the jackson cage
Baby theres nights when I dream of a better world
But I wake up so downhearted girl
I see you feeling so tired and confused
I wonder what its worth to me or you
Just waiting to see some sun
Never knowing if that day will ever come
Left alone standing out on the street
Till you become the hand that turns the key down in
Jackson cage
Down in jackson cage
Well darlin can you understand
The way that they will turn a man
Into a stranger to waste away
Down in the jackson cage
song performed by by Bruce Springsteen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Gorilla and his beloved wife
This man was certainly fed up with the life and roamed like a stray dog.
One day he found in the Zoo the gorilla's cage is vacant.
Since that day he lived in the cage happily.
On a sunny Sunday he saw his wife came towards the cage.
'Oh! You resemble my so loved husband and he was disappeared a long time ago.' wife said.
She witnessed the gorilla cried and she gave him her handkerchief.
On her way back home she had a facial as she knows her husband would be at home soon.
* I heard that he says; 'We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.' Good luck to the land of opportunity! And guess who comes to the dinner with a gift of real democracy.
poem by Nimal Dunuhinga
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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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
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Degrees Of Unfreedom...
1. caught
a bird inside your hand
2.released
inside a cage and hangs
on a beam
at the side of the road
3.well feed with
grains
4. starts to sing
inside the cage
5. feathers fall
and unlearned
flights
6. so many thoughts
about bird-lands
7.death
8. no one sees
the spirit getting
out of the body
of the bird
9. into another plane
another cage
10. back to one
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Fireman
Give me a dollar on four
I can't take anymore
My head is like a cage
I'm feeling in a rage
I ain't got nothing to lose
I'm left with what i had
My head is like a cage
I'm feeling in a rage
I want to be like the sun
I want to feel like a flame from a gun
I'm soaken;
Empty out my can
I'm broken;
You won't understand
I'm ruunin;
Catch me if you can
I'm burnin';
I'm the fireman
song performed by by Lit from Tripping the Light Fantastic
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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