The Cage Poem by Vinaya Joseph

I wondered,
What does freedom mean to me?
Perhaps, it could be liberty
From the internal struggle,
That I undergo everyday…
In the distance,
Through my window,
I saw a little bird in a cage,
And I wondered,
What would freedom mean?
For that little bird…
In its prime,
It had touched the horizons,
Spanned the vast blue sky,
Took flights,
And challenged mighty heights,
With its tiny wings…

Today, confined within a cage,
This little flying soul,
Has lost its flight,
Courtesy human desire

I wondered,
How selfish we humans are,
Just for our desires,
We confine someone,
That’s breathing and alive,
Behind metal bars,
With limited food,
Little water,
Sans wood,
Sans its habitat,
Animals to soothe our senses,
Losing its liberty to human desires
And greed…

The powered human race reigns,
Pleasure for one,
Pain for the other,
Strange are our ways,
Oh human! ! !