My Favorite Poem

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
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"

This poem by Maya Angelou is probably the only poem that I really like. I don't know why I like it so much, but I do. You know how you like something or dislike something so much and you never know why? Well, this is how I feel when it comes to this poem. Maya Angelou is such an influential poet and writer, and all of her poems have a deep meaning to them, but this one, it really cuts the cake. This blog is just a spur of the moment-type blog, but it means something to me none-the-less. Whenever I think of this poem, an unrecognizable feeling overwhelms me and I cannot stop my mind from thinking about it. It's kind of like a love feeling but not love, because my heart beats faster thinking about and reading this poem but it's not the love-type of heart beats. This feeling is so queer that it scares me, but I'm not afraid of it, instead I embrace it. It's weird, I know, but I'm a weird person and this strange feeling is a part of me and I'm okay with it. My thoughts are so jumbled right now but it's all focused on one thing.