The Caged Bird sings …
Inayatiyya To Do List 2022 – Day Three
Continuing onward, as we further reflect on our wealth of experiences in 2022, have you …
✓ Oriented toward the New Moon?
✓ Read “Caged Bird” by Maya Angelou?
✓ Called forth healing for those living in places of conflict?
✓ Traveled to Saturn?
✓ Received wisdom from Grandmothers?
✓ Listened to Coltrane’s “Love Supreme”?
✓ Breathed like a wolf?
✓ Whirled in ecstasy?
✓ Held the silence?
Indian Miniature Painting of Birds in The Cage Real Gold & Gouache Art On Paper
Caged Bird by Maya Angelou
A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun 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.
The Inayatiyya is a non-profit 501c3 organization, Tax ID #23-7159641. Your donation may be fully deductible for tax purposes per United States IRS guidelines. Please note that donations made by check must be received and deposited by Friday, December 30th to be considered as within 2022. If you would like to make a donation by mail, please send to Inayatiyya, 112 E Cary Street, Richmond, VA 23219.
If you make a donation by this coming Friday, December 23rd, you will receive a free excerpt of Pir Zia’s forthcoming title, Immortality: A Traveler’s Guide, to be emailed next Monday. All who tithed this fall will also receive a copy of the excerpt. Thank you!
As shared last week, we are pleased to announce Pir Zia’s forthcoming title, Immortality: A Traveler’s Guide, published by Suluk Press.
Khatidja Rodriguez-Ruiz has been a murid in the Inayatiyya since 2008. She is a graduate of the Suluk Academy (Naubahar) and a member of the Kinship Council. Khatidja received her B.I.S. in Sociology and Public Policy from the University of Virginia. Professionally, she is a fundraising strategist in higher education and the performing arts. She is also a musician and uses improvised music and theater as a conduit to support local activism and the arts. She believes that unity is found through the weaving of diverse ideals to build a tapestry of love, harmony, and beauty. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia with her husband.
