What does the caged bird want to do?

Question

I KNOW what the caged bird feels, alas!
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,
And the faint perfume from its chalice steals--
I know what the caged bird feels!

I know why the caged bird beats his wing
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling
When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;
And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a keener sting--
I know why he beats his wing!

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!



Caged Bird

A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom

Answer 1

He wants to be free.

"for the caged bird
sings of freedom"

Answer 2

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

I have found 7 summaries for you to look at, via the links below.

http://thebestnotes.com/booknotes/I_Know_Why_The_Caged_Bird_Sings/Caged_Bird_Sings01.html

http://www.antistudy.com/search.php?title=I+Know+Why+The+Caged+Bird+Sings

http://www.freebooknotes.com/book.php3?id=201

These links will give you a summary of the book, character analysis, plot and much more, so that you will be able to answer literary questions. Here is a short extract of what you can expect from the summaries.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou's first venture into autobiography, is, like the author herself, packed with promise. Like most autobiography, the story line follows the author's memories, which are colored by photos, letters, and other people's interpretations and repetitions of past events. The conversations are obviously padded or wholly fictionalized to fill in what people probably said at the time. The Maya character, sometimes endowed with more sophistication and understanding than is appropriate to her young age, reflects a blend of memory and the adult author's hindsight. More…..

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/id-24,pageNum-43.html

Answer 3

Get out of its cage and be free.

Answer 4

Sing.
Come on, Maya Angelou. (sp)

And fly away, pun intended.

Answer 5

he want to fly like eagle...
into the future