Response to The Peom

SYMPATHY
                                           -Paul Laurence Dunbar
Sympathy- otherwise known as compassion is a good character. Buddhists follow the principles of compassion. I am a Buddhist and am a religious person. We learn not to hurt others and make others around us happy. I chose your poem since it had things that I can relate myself to. I have the part of me where I can feel people’s difficulties and understand their feelings. I am a very sensitive person. This was a lovely poem written by you. It made me think of little creatures that are stepped on every time we walk. As a child, I loved having bird as a pet but never really got one. I realized that a bird that is caged could get scared and feel unhappy that will make the bird want to leave the place and hurt itself. Whenever I see someone unhappy, I put myself in their place and think of how it might feel. The first stanza of your poem reminded me of my boarding school days in India. The schools in India are very strict. Teachers are highly respected. I was only thirteen years old.  The school starts at 9:00 in the morning and ends at 4:00 in the evening. All boarders had to study till 5:30 pm. So before it was 5:30 pm in the clock, we used to always wonder what the outside would be like, since there were day scholars playing outside. It will make us want to go out and I won’t be able to wait to go outside and play. All this desperateness was due to the fact that we’ve all been in class from morning until four in the evening and now that we’re in our dorm are forced to study. We were not free at all, just like the bird.
“I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes”
Many thoughts revolved around my head. I wondered why people would want to go hunt for birds and keep it as their pet when the bird is making noise and flaps its wings all the time. I believe that it is not the decorations that come first; rather it is the life of anther person. The last stanza made me feel sorry for all the birds that are being caged right this moment and are suffering. This really was a nice poem which inspired me. My mind was filled with images of birds caged. It is harsh to punish these little tiny birds that have no enmity with man but is terribly being punished. I call it punishment, a severe one.
What comes in your mind when you hear the word sympathy? Is the sympathy only for birds or is it for all the living creatures that suffer all over the world?
Tibetans in Tibet are suffering right now and are like the birds that are caged and also tortured. I think the whole human race should stop all these and keep peace amongst each other. No one knows what is going to happen tomorrow. You might be the victim and be suffering like the birds. It is nice to know that there are people in this world who care not only for themselves but also for others, because in the modern world it is always difficult to find a person like you. I really appreciate the way you wrote the poem. It was lively and sad at the same time. It is sad to know if a member from my family was arrested and imprisoned. So is the case for birds. The birds might have their families behind, who needs to be taken care of and fed.
This poem was something that had meaning of what life meant. It attracted me. I am a great fan of your poem. I wish you write the same kind of poem again. It is short and understandable.