Rian Smith

Caged Bird

a song bird, tired of singing the same old song

who's wings are tired of the same winds

when the horizon is no longer its muse

what does it do?

mid flight, the weight of the world on its wings

collapsing under the weight, under the burden,

under the systematic oppression

the sun demands the bird to "fly lower"

but it's rights clearly say "the sky is the limit"


"early bird gets the worm" they said

but the night owl is always one step ahead

you cannot win,

and no, you cannot break tradition

sell you dreams like "anything is possible with ambition"

yet they'd never give you the right conditions

make you fly on the "bad side of town",

tell you you don't make enough for that,

and you cannot have "those worms"

as if you are supposed ignore these words

& believe you have the same chance as all the other birds

when it's obvious you don't

they watch you from high in the sky,

waiting for you to fail

and when you do,

they just put you in jail

i now understand why the caged bird sings

because they tell you that "you can do anythi-"

but in mid-sentence,

they clip your wings.

@PoetryByRian