Menu

“Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar – Inspiration for You Are a Bird

I came across the poem “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar when I was an English teacher at Junipero Serra High School about twelve years ago. A line from the poem, “I know why the caged bird sings,” was used by Maya Angelou as the title of her 1969 autobiography, which we were reading at the time. My students and I were deeply touched by the elegant words Dunbar chose to express the agony of a being in captivity as well as by his fascinating, yet tragically short, life. (It was a personal bonus that Dunbar was from the same hometown as my grandparents — Dayton, Ohio.)

The ideas and imagery of this powerful work have continued to impact me through the years.

The English teacher in my first book, Body, recites “Sympathy” to his class, and I include lines from the poem in a currently unproduced screenplay. Eventually, it occurred to me that Dunbar’s caged bird would make a great novella protagonist, and so I wrote You Are a Bird (under the pen name Breezy Van Lit) toward that end.

I hope you consider reading You Are a Bird. But first, please enjoy…

“Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar

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!

1899, Public domain

###

Learn more about Paul Laurence Dunbar on Poets.org.

Purchase You Are a Bird on Amazon or read for free on Kindle Unlimited.

If you enjoy You Are a Bird, please consider leaving an Amazon review, which helps spread the word. Thank you in advance!

#reading #novella #ChristianFiction #christianfictionreaders #christianfictionwriter #christianfictionbooks #ebook #ebooklovers #KindleUnlimited #kindleunlimitedbooks #bookstagram #2ndPerson #booksaboutbirds #inspirationalfiction #selfhelpfiction #booksaboutfreedom

Paul Laurence Dunbar inspiration of You Are a Bird by Breezy Van Lit
Award winning novella, You Are a Bird, is free on Kindle Unlimited

Details

  • BOOK TITLE: You Are a Bird
  • AUTHOR: Breezy Van Lit
  • PUBLISHER: Shimmer Tree Books
  • SIMILAR TO: The Great Divorce (C.S. Lewis), Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Richard Bach), Bright Lights, Big City (Jay McInerney), Animal Farm (George Orwell)
  • GENRE: Inspirational Fiction
  • SUBGENRES: Christian Fiction, metaphysical fiction, visionary fiction, fiction featuring animals
  • READER AGE: Teen and up
  • FORMATS: eBook, Paperback, Hardcover
  • ISSUES EXPLORED: Freedom, courage, redemption, faith, journey of the hero, spiritual journey, mental health, self-harm, confusion
  • PUBLICATION DATE: July 4, 2022

Other Writing by Sean Coons

Firefly by Sean Coons - middle grade adventure
Body by Sean Coons - novel about body image and intuitive eating
Link to Compared to Who for Men

Sean Coons is a writer, musician, and educator living in Idaho’s Treasure Valley with his wife and son. Sean’s novel, FIREFLY, is a comedic middle grade adventure. He is also the author of BODY, an inspirational-fiction comedy exploring body image and intuitive eating. Read Sean’s full bio here.

Related Posts