I tell you, I am no broken thing:
though I may cut, and I may sting
like shards of glass, fallen low.–
I am no broken thing, you know.
I have teeth and I have claws
that cut like scalpels and like saws
I am wild and I am free,
I am not broken, for you see
A dog or horse may be tamed
but lions can only be restrained:
Soon I’ll be running free,
the caged bird sings, but not
for me.