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Bidwell Hollow
Bidwell Hollow
Paul Laurence Dunbar's 'Sympathy'

Paul Laurence Dunbar's 'Sympathy'

The poem from which Maya Angelou got her title for 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings'

Jun 23, 2020
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Bidwell Hollow
Bidwell Hollow
Paul Laurence Dunbar's 'Sympathy'
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Sympathy

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…

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