"The cage isn't just the bars, man," Jermaine said, tapping his temple. "It’s the song they teach you to sing. They want us to chirp for the crumbs. They don't want us to scream for the sun."
to weave into the plot (e.g., the concept of the "beautiful struggle") J. Cole - Caged Bird (feat. Omen)
The sun didn't shine in the city; it just bounced off the glass of the high-rises and died in the alleyways. Jermaine sat on the fire escape, his notebook a heavy weight against his knees. Below, the block was a symphony of sirens and shouting, a rhythm he knew by heart but couldn't quite dance to. "The cage isn't just the bars, man," Jermaine
To help me expand this narrative or explore the song's themes further: They don't want us to scream for the sun
He looked at the iron bars of the railing. To anyone else, they were just safety features. To him, they were the silhouette of a cage.