Locked up and Shackle
But no chains to tackle
Try to speak
Am I really so weak
Try to write
But only darkness, my light
I know why a cage bird sings
Words once rolled like thunder
Now silent like a baby slumber
No paper for my expression
Paper but no pen for the lesson
I know why a cage bird sings
Sentences on paper like the page is blank
Emptiness and despair is all I drank
Unable to perceive what really is true
Once considered the best, my question, what to do?
I know why a cage bird sings
No one holding, no one stopping
The horrors in my mind, causing my failing
I am my destruction
Like monstrous volcano with no eruption
I know why a cage bird sings
I long for freedom
My words are my crown, my kingdom
My words taken away only by me
I need to be strong so I can be free
I know why a cage bird sings
A song so sweet to the ear
Unable to move, brings only a tear
This is how I feel inside
Trapped in my body, tortured along ride
I know why a cage bird sings
Reginald Francois
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/i-know-why-a-cage-bird-sings/
