Excerpt from: Sympathy
Paul Laurence Dunbar

I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
When the first bird sings and the first bud opes, 5
And the faint perfume from its chalice steals--
I know what the caged bird feels!
I know why the caged bird beats his wing
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling 10
When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;
And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a keener sting--
I know why he beats his wing!
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, 15
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,--
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings-- 20
I know why the caged bird sings!

Which statement cites direct evidence from the passage to support its meaning MOST effectively?
A) Dunbar claims that the bird is not in a real cage at all and is actually "free."
B) Paul Dunbar's poem expresses great sadness and longing for finding romantic love.
C) Paul Dunbar uses the metaphor of a bird that is in a cage to describe how others feel.
D) Dunbar identifies strongly with a trapped animal: "I know what the caged bird feels, alas!".