Open-air Fresco by lily

Open-air Fresco

I know why the caged bird sings

A free bird leaps on the back
Of the wind and floats downstream
Till the current ends and dips his wing
In the orange suns 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.

by Maya Angelou

Don't we all feel a bit caged now and then...?
wow. this is incredible!
October 19th, 2010  
Fantastic! I saw a murder of crows today. No camera. Made me sad.
October 19th, 2010  
@silverdraggin - a murder of crows?!?!
October 19th, 2010  
This is just beautiful! I love the texture!
October 19th, 2010  
i love this! the texture is fantastic! and all the birds!!! you will never see this here.
October 19th, 2010  
awesome!
October 19th, 2010  
Very cool shot - makes me think of the old movie "The Birds"
October 19th, 2010  
@lily It's a collective noun for crows. I could have said Flock of Crows and I'm sorry I confused you.
October 19th, 2010  
What an amazing capture. Love this. Nicely edited. This is a fav.
October 19th, 2010  
@silverdraggin - ohh really?? I've never heard that expression before. But thank you for using it cos' now I know :)
October 19th, 2010  
@fysmith - you are in Chicago right? You don't get many birds there? Strange :)
October 19th, 2010  
@seattle - thanks for the fav!!! :D :D :D
October 19th, 2010  
not in downtown area, it's all buildings :)
October 19th, 2010  
Wow awesome action shot! It is strange but I actually had a dream about a huge flock of birds last night. I was trying to take pictures but my camera wasn't working =/
October 19th, 2010  
@msickman - that is kinda strange :) I had a dream about a cute kid that I was taking photos of... I'm afraid to interpret that dream! lol :)
October 19th, 2010  
Awesome capture and processing!
October 19th, 2010  
beautiful!!!!!
October 19th, 2010  
wow this is stunning- beautiful capture Lily :)!!
October 19th, 2010  
Gorgeous! I agree with Rebbecca...."stunning"!
October 19th, 2010  
beautiful!
October 19th, 2010  
A little bit scary but amazing picture! I haven't seen so many birds for a long time.
October 19th, 2010  
Wow! Fantastic capture!
October 19th, 2010  
wow amazing x
October 19th, 2010  
Laerke ~ I love, love, love this shot! There is something so beautiful about this shot...and yet slightly terrifying in a very Alfred Hitchcock sort of way. Thanks for sharing this wonderful poem to go along with this as well!
October 19th, 2010  
Reminds me of the movie The Birds! This is a great shot!
October 19th, 2010  
super shot....very Hitchcock
October 19th, 2010  
Coool pic!
October 19th, 2010  
Love all of the layers here. Reminds me of all the Canada geese that are flying south for the winter right now where I am...
October 19th, 2010  
perfect poem to accompany this photo. Love the texture you added
October 19th, 2010  
Wonderful picture and poem!
October 20th, 2010  
Stunning shot!!! Love the texture!
October 20th, 2010  
awesome!!
October 20th, 2010  
Amazing capture.
October 20th, 2010  
Awesome!
October 20th, 2010  
Excellent capture. its really beautiful.
October 20th, 2010  
Amazing picture!
October 20th, 2010  
I could stare at this picture for hours.
October 20th, 2010  
Amazing shot!
October 20th, 2010  
great shot!
October 20th, 2010  
Very cool!
October 20th, 2010  
Excellent capture.
October 20th, 2010  
Sure do! What an amazing shot!
October 20th, 2010  
amaazinggggggg
October 20th, 2010  
The poem I'd never heard and as i read it, it made me quite emotional. A beautiful picture to go with it. Most of the photos in my fave folder are there because of some poem or quotation that has been put with them. I'm adding yours to my folder. Thanks.
October 20th, 2010  
@Cherrill - thank you for your kind words Cherrill, I'm really glad you like the poem, I felt it suited the picture well, and then I guess most people can relate to feeling a bit caged now and then... I'm off to check out your fav folder to see your collection :)
October 20th, 2010  
I hope you like my very small collection. Quite a few were chosen because they reminded me of my dad who passed away just over a year ago and when I first began this project i found so many things reminded me of him.
October 20th, 2010  
Lovely title and treatment. Great job.
October 20th, 2010  
I'm so glad you left some hints in the tag about the technique you used; this is gorgeous! It would have been lovely to see the birds in flight, but the texture adds so much! It was a delight to receive your note about our new grandbaby...these are some pretty exciting days with so much to look forward to!
October 20th, 2010  
Incredible!! This literally took my breath away when I saw it on the popular page!
October 20th, 2010  
LOVE this! (Love Maya Angelou too!)
October 21st, 2010  
This is amazing!
October 21st, 2010  
This is amazing. Like one of those designs you'd get on a postcard.
October 21st, 2010  
Had to fave this. It's fantastic. Hey English collective nouns for birds are hilarious. If you are ever bored for five minutes google it!
October 21st, 2010  
@rich57 - I actually did! And I found the most ridicules, hilarious things like “shrewdness of apes” and “sowse of lions”. I though “mischief of mice” was super cute :)
And thank you for the fav!
October 21st, 2010  
Bia
I really really love this. Fav for sure.
October 21st, 2010  
Ira
Beautiful!
October 22nd, 2010  
Neat!
October 22nd, 2010  
oh.. can you please tell me the name of the texture used?
I've been looking for a similar one for AGES?
October 22nd, 2010  
Dee
I want this on my wall!!
October 23rd, 2010  
Dee
also I must try to work with textures..
October 23rd, 2010  
@daliadestructo - it is called texturise_paint_texture_0018.jpg, dunno if that helps... I don't remember where I got it, I've had it for quite a while :)
October 23rd, 2010  
I saw this earlier in the week, but didn't take the time to comment. I love it! I really like the birds. I could definitely hang this on my wall.
October 23rd, 2010  
Yes. This is a beautiful contrast between birds and sky (:
October 23rd, 2010  
very pretty!
October 23rd, 2010  
Beautiful - love the textures and the birds. A fav!
October 23rd, 2010  
This is super awesome. Love the texture!
October 24th, 2010  
i'm OBSESSED. *fav
October 24th, 2010  
I agree with what everyone else said...what an amazing capture. Breathtaking! Love the poem too.
October 25th, 2010  
Fantastic shot and even great processing! Love this! Total quality!
October 25th, 2010  
gorgeous, fav!
October 25th, 2010  
cool
November 18th, 2010  
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