i know why the caged bird sings
... Abbey Lincoln Roach suggested the title, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, to Angelou. ... ” When a reporter asked Angelou why does the caged bird sing, she replied, “I think that it was a bit of naivete or braggadocio… to say I know why the caged bird sings! I was copying a Paul Laurence Dunbar poem so it’s all right. I believe that a free bird… floats down, eats the early worm, flies away, and mates… But the bird that’s in a cage stalks up and down, looking constantly out… and he sings about freedom. ... Paul Laurence Dunbar says, I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, when his wing is bruised and his bosom sore, -- when he beats his bars and he would be free; It is not a carol of joy or glee, But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core, But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings—I know why the caged bird sings!