To A Bird In The Cage by Kusum Gokarn

To A Bird In The Cage

You who are born

In a cage within a cage,

Are you happy?

Can you conceive any thought,

You who are fed

On the crumbs of charity?

Can you fly into dream,

You whose feet are clogged

To reality?

And even if you could,

How far would you go?

There’s always a cage within a cage.

Balanced on the edge of void,

You have at least,

The comfort of the bars.

You cannot help surrendering

To the nature

Of your singing.

Surely, you must look

For happiness

Within.

Kusum Gokarn

From- The Desert Blossom (pub 1972)