What contrasting picture has the poet painted of the caged bird and the free bird?

In the poem, the poet paints a picture of the free bird, in which it is able to leap, float, dip, and claim the sky. The bird is free..... it lives as a part of nature, rather than an observer of nature.

The caged bird, however, is very different. Where the free bird can soar and explore the world, the caged bird is destined to "stalk" repeatedly to and fro in its narrow cage. It has no freedom, it cannot fly. Its wings are clipped and serve only to secure its imprisonment. The free bird can live its dreams..... the caged bird can only dream of the unknown.