the caged bird sings

i.

my father bred pigeons for show.

in the same breath,

my mother whistled to blue jays

and shooed away the crows.

and i'd watch our caged yellow canary

sangin' to the sun 

from her soul,

and i'd sing back to her,

oh, how i know,

i know,

i know.

ii.

and what do you do 

when a hero dies?

you realize that 

you are still alive.

poems for maya angelou, and for myself, because from her words i learned that everything that you say and do should be for you and for someone else.