Read "Caged" by Helen Hay Whitney online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
Once I had wings -- I had no heart to fly, They put me in a cage, I did not die. They tamed me, taught me tricks and bade me sing; I waited, bore it patiently; one thing I knew, that some day it might be The cage would open and I should be free. I waited endlessly, -- at last the day! Faint with delight I thought to fly away, Ah, but the mockery of that open door! -- My wings were powerless, I could fly no more.