caged bird

Connecting Poetic Threads

muhammadc324 hadi, Personal Response, Writing , , , , 0 Comment
Connecting Poetic Threads
“if you touch me, touch ALL of my people
who need attention and societal repair,
give the tired and the poor
the same attention, AMERICA,
touch us ALL with liberty,
touch us ALL with liberty.”
– Lady Liberty


Both the poems Lady Liberty by Tato Laviera and Caged Bird by Maya Angelou communicated strong emotions in me, connecting with my history and my experiences. Both poems delved into the aspects of freedom, immigration, and the responsibilities that society holds, offering thought-provoking insights into the challenges faced by marginalized and minority communities.

Tato Laviera.

As someone whose parents had immigrated to Canada, the themes of liberty, immigration, and societal responsibility from Lady Liberty struck a chord with me. Lady Liberty’s plea for attention and societal healing reminded me of the difficulties experienced by immigrants, reminding me of my family’s journey and the obstacles they had faced in pursuit of a better life. Furthermore, Lady Liberty’s call to embrace all people strongly aligned with the values of inclusivity and equality, which was something that I held to a high standard. The poem served as a message not just to America, but the entire world, urging us to address and recognize that true freedom can not be attained if it comes at the expense of neglecting others’ needs. The poem prompted me to reflect on the implications of liberty and societal accountability, emphasizing how interconnected nations and people were in their shared journey toward happiness. It had served as a reminder that while we celebrated freedom we also needed to acknowledge and work towards resolving the smaller and underlying issues within our society. We should strive to make sure that everyone regardless of their background or circumstances has access to liberty. Lady Liberty led me to reflect on the meaning of freedom, our responsibilities to society, and the interconnectedness of communities. The poem’s vivid descriptions, powerful comparisons, and moving messages helped me delve into understanding the complexities involved in striving for freedom and the significance of working as a community to create a fair society.

As I read both Lady Liberty and Caged Bird, I found myself drawing multiple connections between the two poems. The contrasting images of magnificence and decay in Lady Liberty mirrored the exploration of confinement and freedom found in Caged Bird. It had become clear to me that both poems served as contemplations on our shared responsibility when it came to striving for a truly inclusive society.

Maya Angelou’s poem evoked thoughts that connected not only with the theme of the poem and Lady Liberty but also with my personal experiences. The contrasting imagery of the free bird and the bird that was trapped created a depiction of freedom and confinement. The free bird had been capable of “soaring on the wind” and “claiming the sky,” symbolizing the experience of living without limitations. In contrast, the caged bird represented those who faced struggles due to cultural or personal barriers as it remained confined within a space. I saw parallels between the caged bird and my parents’ experiences. The caged bird’s song about longing for “things yet still desired” reminded me of their yearning for a better life and opportunities. Similar to the caged bird, my parents bravely expressed their dreams against all odds and created a life in a country where they often found themselves Caged. The depiction of “bars of rage” and the haunting cry of a “nightmare scream” captured the frustration and despair that arose when one felt confined and trapped. This is strongly connected with the challenges experienced by immigrants, who frequently encounter prejudice, discrimination, and the burden of expectations. Watching the presentation on the poem and learning about the author and their history allowed me to expand my understanding even more. Angelou’s poetry beautifully captured the struggles faced by African Americans, which was something I could relate to as my parents had also faced challenges as immigrants. It made me realize how interconnected minority communities were and that the fight for freedom and equality was something that was shared despite the differences between communities. As I related my background to the poem, it evoked a sense of empathy and solidarity within me. The caged bird’s song, symbolizing freedom and reaching toward horizons, is like an anthem for those who strived for a better life.

The challenges depicted in Lady Liberty marked by decay, mirrored the feelings of confinement and longing portrayed in Caged Bird. Both poems highlighted the importance of repairing our society, embracing inclusivity, and recognizing how nations were interconnected in their pursuit of freedom. Together they deliver a call to action that urges society to address the imperfections within our communities and ensure that freedom is a shared mission – one that goes beyond borders, cultures, and backgrounds. As I navigate through my own identity, these poems serve as guiding lights, reminding me of our responsibility to create a world where freedom and acceptance are not merely celebrated but also universally attainable.

 

Citations-
NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 27: Honoree Jesus Tato Laviera attends the American Diabetes Association launching of “Live The Good Life” Campaign at N Harlem on September 27, 2006 in New York City. (Photo by Donna Ward/Getty Images)

Why The Caged Siren Sings

amber2635 20-1D, Personal Response, Writing , , , , 1 Comment
Why The Caged Siren Sings

          A rush of deafening silence wraps itself around intricate words tying one’s lips shut, so much so that it is almost impossible to ignore the absolute desire to speak out; although, one cannot as they accumulate into a blank abyss fueled with anger and distress, unable to reach out as society drags them into a cage, locking the door behind. Racial discrimination can be defined as unfair treatment or bias against someone or a group of people based on their race.

          Although, in terms of society, the unconfined and one’s who forcefully hold their tongues live side by side; yet when the confined call out, they will continually remain unheard because of human ignorance. In the poem, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, African American Civil Rights writer Maya Angelou depicts this message throughout the poem in the juxtaposition between the free and caged bird. 

          Similarly, in the poem, Siren Song, writer Margaret Atwood depicts a manipulative tune from the Siren. Throughout the passage, readers are shown the symbolism of the dangers that sailors faced at sea. Throughout the poem, the Siren sings as if it is trapped in a cycle in which they are forced to kill sailors without the option to refuse the unfortunate faith. Whether or not that is true does not matter, as it symbolizes the feelings of uncontrollable faith. Likewise to this theme, the aftermath feelings because of the forced behavior may indicate that the Siren, too, feels like they are caged up to a miserable faith. If they decide not to abide by such circumstances, they will, unfortunately, die because their only food source will be gone. 

 

          In comparison, these two poems both centralize the theme of feeling caged up. The bird in the first poem has feelings of entrapment as it cannot sores into the sky, which prevents them from being a free bird. Likewise, the Siren mentioned in the second poem might have feelings of entrapment in a role they might not prefer to have but have no choice because of survival instincts. Like these two concepts, both have a symbolic cage around their own free will, which introduces the feelings of entrapment that can be relatable in society in general.

          For example, individuals who choose to work in occupations they do not have passion for might feel entrapped in their duty without wanting to do the work they pursue. With this being said, being trapped in an intense work environment can make individuals get burnt out and overwhelmed with their day-to-day life. 

          Similarly to this concept, I, too, have had feelings of entrapment where I feel as though I do feel caged up in my emotions and cannot adequately express myself. Throughout the years, I have learned to cope with my emotional burdens, which unfortunately made me get burnt out and unable to function sometimes correctly. To manage, I find ways to properly execute those intense feelings out of my system, for example, with music. I love listening to music as it is a coping mechanism to help soothe my emotional well-being. Additionally, I also love drawing and creating art as it is a way of expressing my creativity while also implementing my feelings into the work that I do.  

Literary Insider – Perception of Oneself

amber2635 20-1D, Personal Response, Writing , , , , 0 Comment
Literary Insider – Perception of Oneself

A perception of ones self can only be glimpsed by an unadorned outward reflection. Nobody can fully conclude what an individual might see, yet we all have a shared understanding of the world around us. Perception constructs an individual’s indifference, hence giving a sense of individuality. Can one fully apprehend how others see, or will the eye of the beholder determine every human experience? The quotes introduced reflect how I see myself and the world around me.

                                     I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an autobiography depicting the tails of American writer Maya Angelou, issued in 1969. It narrates Angelou’s youthful memories while furthermore, resurfacing subjects of childhood trauma she and her sister Bailey underwent while encountering parental abandonment throughout their life. Other topics of rape and racial injustice are highlighted themes throughout this book. Angelou declares how a love of literature can help overcome the downsides of one’s life, regardless if one feels like their voice has been caged up indefinitely by society. 

          The quote, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you,” outlines how an individual might feel trapped or unable to speak up because of their social environment. Overall, the author portrays this feeling of being “shut up” almost forcefully, even despite wanting to express topics they are passionate about.

         Most individuals have experienced a sort of anxiousness when it comes to casual settings, especially in a group setting where you might want to speak up. Nonetheless, you might feel like you cannot because you can’t talk, or your peers might not fully listen. I feel as though Angelou tried to portray this feeling by reflecting on her own life, as she felt closed off from the world around her because of racial injustices while being raised in a world already set up to be immensely difficult.

          Concluding this statement, depicting the title “the Caged Bird” as one cannot fly if caged up, hence why they might feel entrapped or forcefully shut down. 

          I reflect on this statement heavily as I am quite a shut-off person. I am pretty introverted, so much so that speaking with people has been one of my biggest struggles to this day, and making friends has always made me have sensations of dread. Hence why one of my most prominent fears in life is public speaking; people might not know that I have a Social Anxiety disorder, and I have struggled to communicate correctly with people all my life. I always despised the statement, “Well, you are just shy; you’ll grow out of it.” As a kid, I wasn’t necessarily terrified of individuals. However, I’d stop myself from voicing stuff I desired to say because it sounded tedious or unnecessary to conversations.

          Although I have gotten much better at getting myself out of my shell, I still struggle to speak up about what I want to say. I might rehearse what I want to say in my head multiple times, but the outcomes of actually saying it come out weirdly and can get irritating. Similar to the author in the sense of using literacy as an escape, growing up, I enjoyed journaling as it gave me an outlet to express myself adequately; even though I struggled to speak with people, all the stories I wanted to talk about flowed down my pen to my paper.

  

 

 

                 The Road is an end-of-the-world novel written by American author Cormac McCarthy and published in 2006. It portrays a young son and his father’s arduous journey over several months. They travel across a landscape affected by a great cataclysm that has eradicated industrialized civilization and almost all life. A common theme in this book is Conflict; throughout the book, McCarthy depicts the struggle of the father and son to survive and whether or not to help other survivors by risking their sense of safety.

       The quote, “You forget what you want to remember, and you remember what you want to forget,” summarizes how the author depicts the unbearable thoughts of subjects he wishes to forget and to recall more compelling aspects of life instead of the negative.

        The author portrays a struggle through how he wishes he would remember what he wants, despite being unable to. It is relatable in that you might have an aspect you would like to remember, but can’t, although something else has taken up your mind. 

An example that I guarantee so many individuals have experienced is cram studying and then thinking about something completely random when doing a test, which I am also incredibly guilty of doing. Furthermore, the quote provides a sense of inner conflict with oneself, as the perspective wishes to not fixate on things they don’t want to remember, which most likely, in this case, is something horrible or negative, while desiring to be more optimistic even if they are not able to.

             Like in the book, the characters must overcome aspects they wish they could forget and, in turn, yearn to remember their old lives without hardship.

 

Citations:

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/946512893/i-know-why-the-caged-bird-sings-satin

https://www.dreamstime.com/illustration/cant-speak.html

https://www.wellmark.com/blue/healthy-living/understanding-social-anxiety

https://archziner.com/lifestyle/eye-color-meaning-eye-color-chart/ https://www.jo-ely.co.uk/the-road-novel-cormac-mccarthy/

https://dribbble.com/tags/overthinking

A look and Response to Dan Almagor and Maya Angelou

dexf853 20-1C, Personal Response, Writing , , , 1 Comment
A look and Response to Dan Almagor and Maya Angelou

 

– Responses to “We shoot children too, don’t we?” By Dan Almagor ; and Caged Bird by Maya Angelou

Sometimes it can be hard to see the effect of our actions on others until we have already gone too far on. Our beliefs are what drive us as individuals to pursue our needs and passions. Our beliefs are also what blind us to actions, hiding behind good temptations and covering up bad excuses. I feel that people can’t understand others ideas and beliefs if they contrast the individuals own beliefs. The invasion and bombing sparked conflict and many emotions during this new battle between Israel and Palestine. What I’m getting at is that after this conflict, the people begin to fight not understanding the impacts of death and destruction on both sides of the battle. The fact that people are the ones dying, not the other nation and it’s land. To create the conflict in sheer rage of emotion and conflict of beliefs. Dan Almagor brings to light the similarities of both parties, the birthdays, the weddings, and the gala, to quote Dan. That these people on both sides have lives and learn, grow, and experience just as everyone else does. 

I feel the poem uses a distinct form of contrast in how we feel for the song birds. I understand how she was able to fraise the free bird in a way that didn’t villainize it, but showed how it used its freedom to its full advantage sailing through any open and free breeze. I do understand that the free bird is representative of the white people of America and North America as it relates to the whole continent  in some sense. The free bird receives the fruits of its labor, but the same can not be said for the caged bird. The contrast is in the restraint placed upon the caged bird. How its freedoms have been stripped and removed completely all except the singing. How its legs are tied so it can not walk and its wings clipped so it can not fly. It creates an interesting contrast between what can be done for the caged bird if the shackles were removed.

The bird in the cage is representing the African Americans in the 1980’s and previous as Maya Angelou was alive well before that time to see the neglect and caging of these people. The poem shows how the free bird and the caged bird are not different structurally. Going back to what I said before; had the birds wings not been clipped and its legs chained it would and could do everything the free bird does. This being representative of the strict rules and extra laws set aside for black people in America. The amount of unjust laws that favor putting African Americans in prison  or worse. Not only this instant but the false accusations against Africans Americans for crimes they didn’t connect. The song bird doesn’t sing songs of sorrow or misfortune, as though it isn’t asking for sympathy. What I really believe it’s saying is that these unjust actions against these people are not okay and how the song bird is calling to action for change. These same things being rights that others have, while the caged birds receive privileges taken away. This part of my writing representing the benefits of white privilege, and how it shouldn’t be a privilege but a right for all people.

 

A Free Bird, Once Caged

ciel 20-1 A, Response to Life, Response to Literature, Writing , , , , 0 Comment
A Free Bird, Once Caged

Night Sky Patrol of Tomorrow, M.B

A response to Maya Angelou’s “Caged Bird”

But what if this caged bird were to be set free?
Would it take to the sky, and, like the free bird, soar as high as the eye could perceive?
Experience once again the clouds it used to soar in between, from it's prison, a reprieve?


Or would it crash and burn, plummet back to the ground,
 wings inexplicably bound,
left to suffer a cruel, unfair fate, with nary a sound?
A sun-stricken Icarus in flight, alight, alone,
 to fall into the sea, with nary a place to call home?

Injustice against one is not so easily forgot'
and to forgive one's captors is a whole other battle to be fought.
Conflict leaves wounds, that fade into scars,
with every glance at them resurfacing memories that bombard,
assaulting a mind with images of repression,
casting one into the deepest, darkest depressions.

So while that bird is free to soar to the sky,
it's clipped wings and distrust renders it unable to defy.
What's been engraved in its mind, time after time.

Though free of the shackles, of a cage with bars of rage,
the sky that it glances is not a breathtaking orange,
but a dull, muted beige.

For how can one enjoy the splendor of the air,
Soar in its currents, cruise upon updrafts so fair,
While they still remember vividly, 
The feeling of captivity? 

The free bird, once caged calls out in the night, 
 because despite it's deepest desires, 
it cannot take flight.
The prison door may be open, but its inmate's mind will never leave,
so all that there is left,
for the free bird, once caged, is to grieve.
Bird in a Cage, K Yuushi

The cherished air beckons to the bird below, but it cannot fly. Years of hate have withered its wings, and the sky no longer feels like home. Longing is strong, but hate and fear are often stronger. One never truly forgets the transgressions they are forced to suffer, only suppressing it until it consumes both them and those around.

Clip a bird’s wings, and it will always fear the day they grow back. After all, is it truly better to have flown and become grounded, or to have ever flown at all?

Time heals all wounds, but scars only fade. Memories can be forgotten, irretrievably broken, but their imprints are not so easily erased, the truth going unspoken.

The fearful trill. And the things unknown.

thabilem834 20-1 B, Personal Response, Response to Life , , 0 Comment
The fearful trill. And the things unknown.

The Fearful Trill…….

Maya Angelou’s heartfelt poem, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” to me teaches a lot about hope and finding something that makes your current situation a lot more bearable. Despite the caged bird’s situation, “his wings are clipped and feet are tied”, this teaches me that you may not always be able to change your current situation, but you are able to change your attitude to make it better. A lot of the time I can get really frustrated because some things just don’t go my way. I enjoy complaining about it as if it’ll make me feel any better, however, I’m still left unsatisfied. This poem serves as a good lesson for me that you don’t always have things going your way and that’s okay. Being able to look at the positive view of things, makes your situation easier to deal and cope with no matter what is that you’re going through.

The quote, “The caged birds stand on a grave of dreams, his shadow shouts a nightmare scream”, really stood out to me. To me this means that all of his dreams, hopes, and aspirations are dead, his body is entrapped in a cage of repression, and the bird uses the one thing that he still has ownership/control over, his voice, to make the most of his situation. We all have a voice and it’s important that we use it to speak our truth because no one will speak it for us. I find that in some environments, I don’t feel safe enough to stand up for myself. I hold back in fear, and it feels like I have walked myself into a cage, the same cage the innocent bird was in. For years I was trapped in the cage, but as I grew up I started to speak up and use my voice, my power. In a way, this provided me with enough strength to break free from the shackles, open the door to the cage, and freely express myself.

And the things unknown…

I always felt like I was my own version of a barbie doll when I was a little girl of course. I did my hair the way I thought I should, I dressed up the way I thought I could…..

“I always looked at myself in the mirror, I felt pretty. I felt pretty because the only person that I was competing with was my reflection. I also felt pretty in my dollhouse made with rough-edged cardboard and glitter glue. I felt safe in my confined space because the glue and the tape prevented any negative thoughts from seeping through the cracks of the cardboard ruining my self-image and drowning me in self-deprecating comments. I felt pretty and beautiful and enough until I really went outside and looked. As I left my house, the wind started to tickle my skin and guide me to the one and only toy store. I took my time absorbing all the vibrant colors that the toys had as they rested on all of the shelves. I went through each aisle until I came face to face with a  barbie doll. A barbie doll that had thin pink lips, wavy and luscious hair, and eyes that were so blue and so intense; it was like we were having a staring competition trying to see who would budge first. She looked so real. I knew this doll observed my features as well; my rich golden brown skin, my brown eyes that remind us all of the hot chocolate that we had on cold days, and my hair~ the curl pattern so complex and extravagant that calling it a maze would be an understatement. We were our own versions of a barbie doll, the only difference was that she was on display. Her type was the only one on display and not one mirrored the tiny details of my appearance. None of them looked like me.”

I think back to this day a lot, and I wish I could just give my younger self a big hug. A simple figure like a barbie doll can change the way a little girl feels about herself. Society changes the way we all view ourselves. We try so hard to achieve unrealistic expectations but it is only until we are older and more mature, that we realize that those standards of beauty are unattainable. That simple summer day in the toy store changed the way I perceived myself forever. I think that day, I came to the realization that I wasn’t the ideal, “barbie doll”, and began adapting characteristics that made me more acceptable to societal beauty standards. I was ashamed of my color and had a whole Pinterest section of skin brightening techniques, I only felt confident in school when my kinky hair wasn’t showing, and the list goes on. After reading the poem, “Barbie Doll”, by Marge Piercy, it was clear to me that every time I tried covering up what made me authentic, I was shortening my lifespan a couple years at a time. I was so close to my deathbed when I realized that this so-called, “Barbie Doll” or this “ideal woman” doesn’t even exist. I was killing parts of myself for no reason.