THE CAGED AND THE FREE

On my way to pursue life,
I saw life itself
Lying bare before my face,
Revealing truths beyond the self.

I saw two birds
From different skies:
One was caged,
The other is free to rise.

I tried to grasp the meaning clear,
But truth, it whispered far, not near.

The caged bird sang a mournful song,
Yearning for a place, it longed.
The free bird never sang at all
No need, no cry, no cage, no wall.

The free bird soared, unchained, unbound,
While the caged one felt the smallest sound.
It thought itself confined, restrained,
While the free bird knew no such chain.

I tried to think and understand,
But the sad song clouded where I stand.
The caged bird sang in sorrowed tones,
Trying to make its feelings known.

Yet envy stirred the flying bird,
It mocked the voice it barely heard.
It flew away, far from the land
Beyond the reach of any hand.

The caged bird smiled to see it gone,
But feared the day it would return.
For its return would bring regret,
A song the caged cannot forget