02/26/2010: "Free 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 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.

from Maya Angelou, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

I have built my cage like a bird builds her nest and for many of the same reasons. It makes me feel secure and sheltered from the predators that circle overhead.

I have built it with promises and commitments and initiations that I put in place one by one and now they have hemmed me in on every side and there is no escape; I have clipped my own wings with worries and imaginings.

I would be content in my state of confinement if only I could forget what it feels like to leap on the back of the wind and float on the downdraft until the current ends. Or remember what it feels like to drop like a stone in a sudden calm. But memory is capricious. And I would dare a free fall, just to reclaim the sky.

Three morals in this story:

1. We build our own cages.
2. We clip our own wings.
3. The caged bird sings of freedom, but the free bird claims the sky.

Yours with creativity and imagination,
Darlene

Replies: 1 Comment

on Monday, April 5th, Rick said

Ahh, but the analogy is far to incomplete to be true; with promises and commitments come accomplishments and satisfactions which give rise to more choices and more opportunities. Choice and opportunity may not always translate into freedom, but they do represent the ultimate luxury -- the ability to choose which is freedom's essence!

r