Shadowed rainbows
Born with strong wings
I was destined to fly free
Through the air I would soar
With only the wind to guide me
My brilliant rainbow feathers
Captured many eyes
Until once, with trust, I settled
In the hands of a man I had mystified
This man was a selfish creature
Presuming everything his own
With this intent, he brought a cage
That soon became my home
In the filtered sunlight
Those myriad colours dulled and died
And now the beauties I was born with
Lie, heavy burdens at my side
Today it is through steel bars
That I share my patch of sky
Hopes and dreams of liberation
Blurr as days pass by
Does anybody out there
Care enough to heed my cry
Or will my punishment for beauty be to linger
Imprisoned until I die.
Penny Francis, year 12, Glen Waverley VIC
This poem comes from the collection Voices for the Animals - A Collection of Stories and Poems by Australian School Students .
Animal Liberation SA holds the copyright to this work. Permission is granted to teachers to make copies for their own students.