Nature

The Caged Bird

by William Lisle Bowles 1762–1850

From The Villager's Verse-Book

Nature

Oh, who would keep a little bird confined,
When cowslip bells are nodding in the wind;
When every hedge as with "good morrow" rings,
And, heard from wood to coombe, the blackbird sings!
Oh! who would keep a little bird confined
In his cold wiry prison? Let him fly,
And hear him sing: How sweet is liberty!

MLA

Bowles, William Lisle. “The Caged Bird.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/bowles/131/.

Chicago

Bowles, William Lisle. “The Caged Bird.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/bowles/131/.

Read this poem with the Codex →

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