As I read, I felt a sense of sadness for the Caged Bird, as its undeniable determination was persistent and valiant. Along with the poem's message, I also appreciated Angelou's unique sense of "unstructured verse" and her non-traditional poetic approach. It is clear that the caged bird represents African Americans and the free bird represents the white population. However, the poem is well written and sends this implicit message of suppression of African Americans in a poetic but clear way.,