I find it fascinating that I’d never heard of Ernest Poole’s novel His Family prior to finding it on the Pulitzer Prize (PP) winners list. Considering this won the first ever PP for Novel (category later changed to Fiction in 1948), one may assume that this book would have appeared in a list of books available to write an essay on in one of my English Composition classes in high school or college, or on a separate list of “Great American Novels”, but neither the name Ernest Poole or his novel His Family had ever entered my lexicon.
Let Me Out Of Here
Wait, wait I say
Don’t walk away
And leave me to linger all the long day
Unlatch this hook and let me take off
For I am my own creature
And don’t belong in this small cage
I’ve done no crime so long lock me away
To fly high above or run is my gift
It hurts to not stretch or feel the warm breeze
I dream of open sky and the dirt under my feet
To sleep is my only relief
Let me out
Please let me out of here
So I can do what I dare and breathe the fresh air