I know what the caged bird feels, alas!

 I know why the caged bird beats its wing

   Till its blood is red on the cruel bars.

                                      -Paul Laurence Dunbar

I read this poem during my school days and these lines are still fresh in my memory. Whenever I see the afflictions of a caged bird, these lines come running to my mind like daggers piercing me deep down. There is a strong urge within me to set the speechless birds free.

We have often seen an encaged bird singing and flapping its wings, people misunderstand it and think that the bird is happy. No one has ever been happy without freedom. The bird sings because it feels helpless, miserable and dejected. It flaps its wings attempting to break the shackles and fly away.

How would a man feel if he’s imprisoned for a lifetime without committing any sin?

Ask an imprisoned man his agony. Ask how dead he feels from inside. Ask him the worth of freedom. Maybe then, the wretched state of the bird could be felt. In my opinion, the degree of someone else’s agony could be only felt by stepping into his shoes.

Imagine yourself in the place of the encaged helpless little birdie. No family, no friends, no one to love and no one to share your happiness and pain. One day, when your cage was hanging in the balcony, you see on a nearby tree another bird feeding his young ones in a nest and then her better half comes with some more food for them. Oh! What a lovely family you would say and then as a caged bird you would feel dead inside.”Feeling death before dying”.  What worse can one feel than this.

 Here you are alone in the cage and other birds like you have the ‘greatest gift of freedom’.

Is freedom really a ‘gift’?

When we humans regard freedom as our birthright then who has given us the authority to cage these beautiful birds who are able to soar high up in the sky. As freedom is our birthright, it is theirs too. Now if we humans have an ounce of humanity within us, then let’s set them free. And if you are a bird lover you can still enjoy the company of the birds without encaging them. You can hang birdhouses in your balcony and garden and keep bird feeders to attract birds. Then you can not only enjoy the company of your feathered friends but also watch them grow. Believe me, the little birdies will fill your heart with happiness and the feeling of contentment.