The Secret of the Lone Singer
Lit Up — April’s Prompt: Inspired Poetry
“The caged bird sings
with fearful trill
of the things unknown
but longed for still”
(Maya Angelou, “Caged Bird”)
I. The secret:
I sing alone, often in the shower
and never, never, ever in public.
II. The non-reasons:
This is not because I’m always out of key
(Though I usually am)
Nor because I’m shy
(Though that is also a fact)
III. The reason:
I sing alone because
I don’t want others
to know what I know,
and that, in knowing,
there are no answers
IV. The motivation:
None of this is for me, mind you
It’s all for them, because
I don’t think they could bear
learning that we are all
living caged lives
dreaming caged dreams
singing caged songs
following scripts we did not write
and being readily fooled
into thinking we have a choice
V. The inevitable question:
And then you’re quick to ask:
“Why do you sing at all?
Why not keep your silence?”
VI. The possible answer:
That, I just don’t know
It’s just the way it is
It’s just the way I am
If you want to understand
the person to go to
is Ms. Maya Angelou.
