Group+7-1

=Freedom Poetry by Mike and Michelle  ** Caged Bird ****by Maya Angelou ** =  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. **Analysis: ** In order to understand the importance and style of this poem, the history and background information is imperative. Written and published in 1969, Caged Bird was just one part of an autobiographical literature called I Know Why the Caged Bird. In Angelou's poem represents many themes, personal ideas, and thoughts. The poem is about two birds, one that is trapped in a cage, and another who is soaring freely in the sky. The trapped bird represents a colored male or female. The free bird symbolizes a white male or female. The poem portrays Maya's feelings of racial discrimination and segregation, because the caged bird is not allowed to escape, just as the men and women were segregated. The poem shows how she was the bird that was tied up, and trapped, and not able to reach freedom.  **The Lockless Door by Robert Frost ** It went many years, But at last came a knock, And I thought of the door With no lock to lock.

I blew out the light, I tip-toed the floor, And raised both hands In prayer to the door.

But the knock came again My window was wide; I climbed on the sill And descended outside.

Back over the sill I bade a "Come in" To whoever the knock At the door may have been.

So at a knock I emptied my cage To hide in the world And alter with age.  **Analysis: ** Frost’s poem discusses a human condition, which is the unnatural fear of new ideas originating from an unidentified source, called provincialism. His poem demonstrates how a person’s mind has a door that can only be opened from inside, but it cannot be locked. The knock represents a sort of liberation. In the poem the knock is imagined as something terrible, but the positive change that it can bring if allowed inside is resisted by “turning out the light’s” or a simple closing of ones eyes and ignoring the issue which is the “tiptoeing” on the floor. The person in the poem seems to then reason with facts of religion by raising their hands and praying towards the “door.” He seemed to be scared of the liberating knock, so he then “climbed on the sill and descended outside. The outcomewas that he became paralyzed by the action. The only thing that changed about the person who was hiding in the world was to wait, and gain wisdom by age. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">

<span style="line-height: normal; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">**American Dream by Switchfoot** <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">When success is equated with excess <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The ambition for excess wrecks us As top of the mind becomes the bottom line When success is equated with excess

If your time ain't been nothing for money I start to feel really bad for you, honey Maybe honey, put your money where your mouth's been running If your time ain't been nothing but money

I want out of this machine It doesn't feel like freedom

This ain't my American dream I want to live and die for bigger things I'm tired of fighting for just me This ain't my American dream

When success is equated with excess When we're fighting for the Beamer, the Lexus As the heart and soul breath in the company goals Where success is equated with excess

'Cause baby's always talkin' 'bout a ring And talk has always been the cheapest thing Is it true would you do what I want you to If I show up with the right amount of bling?

Like a puppet on a monetary string Maybe we've been caught singing Red, white, blue, and green But that ain't my America, That ain't my American dream. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: left; display: block; color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">**Analysis:** This song follows the theme of the American Dream and freedom. As the band illustrates in the song, in today's society the American Dream to own, buy, and show off material possessions. The speaker in this song reveals that the idea of the American Dream is to also simply own the most amount of money and have a independent attitude. The speaker also shows that their future and dream is and should be bigger than the society's version. Additionally, the last main stanza in the song has a line that states "Maybe we've been caught singing "r ed, white, blue, and green." This line further illustrates the idea of freedom in the way of everyone being able to choose their own version of the American Dream. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(105, 105, 27); text-align: center; display: block;"> After All You've Been Through <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(44, 119, 44);">Through rockets, flames, and burnt debris Smoke and ash no one can see. Shattered earth and men lay the ground Screaming, death, endless sound. The breath of war is in the air And in its wake the land is bare.

Chaos, despair, a hell-bitten land There are those who fight and take a stand. They volunteer willingly for this strife To protect this country with their life. Keeping our flag for all to see Making our home the land of the free. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(186, 28, 28); background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; display: block;">