I am a caged bird but
The door’s flung wide
I could fly out
Yet I stay inside.
A wall I’d scale
I’d climb a gate
To get out of jail
For jails I hate.

I’m my own boss
And I do work hard
Oft at a loss
Or a poor reward
For myself I work
Though free to rest
No thought to shirk
Disturbs my breast

In a cage am I
But the door’s ajar
And that is why
I don’t fly far
Were the door not so
I’d long to roam
But I’m free to go
So I stay at home.

MICHAEL MULLIN, ‘The Bard of Foremass’,
Foremass Lower, Sixmilecross, Co. Tyrone.
Sent 17.12.47