I Cry Out for Freedom

A poem based on Maya Angelou’s Poem “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"

A free woman follows 

the calls of her heart 

and ventures through forests

in spite of the dark,

and tests the waters

in the pools of her dreams

and dares to swim the ocean.

But a woman enslaved

by the weight of her sin

can barely stand up

nor know how to begin

to free herself

from the shackles and cuffs,

so she lifts up her head to cry.

The caged woman cries

in search of relief

from the strangling chains

of all her misdeeds.

But her secret is kept

in a tightly locked chest,

for the caged woman cries out for freedom.

The free woman lives walking in light.

She dances in morning; 

she rests in the night. 

And where she finds sorrow 

she finds purpose, too.

And where she finds sin 

she finds God’s grace anew.

But a caged woman lies on a grave of despair.

Her soul screams within her, 

gasping for air--

for truth to be breathed in the rubble and clay,

so she lifts up her head to cry. 

The caged woman cries 

in search of relief

from the strangling chains

of all her misdeeds.

But her secret is kept 

in a tightly locked chest,

for the caged woman cries out for freedom.