Many of you may not be aware of the fact that Maya Angelou wrote the original draft of her now famous poem I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings after a visit to the 02536. Yup, it turns out Maya has a cousin who lives on Alexander Booker Rd. She was visiting her cousin back in the day and they ended up going to a party on the Boulevard.
Long story short, in the original version it was a Seacoast bird, but her editors feared that the context may narrow the target demographic. They pleaded with her to make it more appealing to a broader audience and she reluctantly obliged.
Maya has always said she regrets the decision because unfortunately we have a policy at the go2536 that we will not appoint a Poet Laureate who has previously served in the same role for the White House. Maya didn’t realize it at the time, but she reached the glass ceiling of her profession when she became Poet Laureate of the United States. She is no longer eligible to serve in that same capacity for the Center Of The Universe.
In an effort to get us to reverse the rule and grant her the position she has always longed for, Maya sent us a transcript of the original work. So now we are at a crossroads, the original is so moving that we are considering changing our policy. We decided to share it with you, our readers, to get your opinions since we are a zip code united, right?
So without further ado we bring you, I Know Why The Seacoast Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
A free bird turns right at Kenyon’s
And drives straight down Central
Until he gets to Menauhant and dips his wing
Turns right while the sun shines
And dares to claim the beach route
But a bird that turns down Seacoast
can never turn off to another place
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing
The Seacoast bird sings with a fearfull trill
Of things like crack and OC pills
And his tune is heard all the way to Waquoit
The Seacoast bird sings of freedom
The Central ave bird thinks of the Menauhant breeze
And the Vineyard Sound winds soft through
The sighing trees of Davisville
And the fresh hydroseed laid on his
lawn and he names the beach route his own
But a Seacoast bird stands on the corner of Edgewater East
His shadow shouts on no road to town
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing
The Seacoast bird sings with a fearful trill
Of things like crack and OC pills
And his tune is heard all the way to waquoit
The Seacoast bird sings of freedom
So it turns out the “caged” bird (a.k.a. Seacoast bird) sings because it is on a dead end road and has to take rte. 28 every time it wants to go into the city (02540). What a powerful message, I don’t know about you folks but I am framing this version and putting it on the mantel a.s.a.p. Brought a tear to my eye.
(On a side note, have you ever noticed that nobody ever annunciates the t in Seacoast Shores. Say it out loud, I bet you don’t say the t.)
by the goat
(go2536.com)
