"A Bird Came Down" - Emily Dickinson

Besides getting in that extra sleep and catching up on some tv and family time, what I like about the weekends is that they're an escape from all the people out there. At school, I'm inundated by the midterm review packets the teachers expect us to remember, the "reassurances" from girls who "will stand by my side even with this bad hair day", and the "guidance counselors/friends" who incessantly need to remind me that I'm screwing my social life with the four AP classes I've decided to take and the emphasized studying I do every day. Well, people, mind your own business. I'm really not that interesting. I'm really not, but people just have the tendency to offer their "so called advice" (it's honestly just their brutal opinion) to me in order to make me feel like crap. Well, back off.

So, I'm researching this Emily Dickinson poem in order to study for my midterm; I've read one of her poems ("Snake") and had come to hate it, but when I read "A Bird Came Down", it just stuck with me because it was so real. 

Basically, in the poem, there's this bird. This bird (in my opinion, a girl) is doing what she wants: eating her worm, drinking her water, unaware of the penetrating stares. Yet, when this bird turns around, her eyes "look like frightened beads" for she sees the narrator staring at her. Creepy, right? Well, the narrator offers a "crumb" (hm. piece of advice? [no pun intended]), but the bird dismisses it; instead, she rows away, into a bliss that's unforgotten. She flies away and grazes the water without making a single splash. Impeccable.

This bird represents not only the oppressed people of the world, but it represents, Ms. Emily herself, and me. I'm the bird and all these school kids, parents, and teachers are the silent judges of my actions. At the end, when the bird flies away, it epitomizes the beauty of freedom. I guess I have to learn that. Learn that it's not necessary to succumb to anyone's standards or beliefs. It's just better to break off your wings and fly on your own.

[Have you guys read this? Anyone find another interpretation?]