Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE MOUSE'S PETITION TO DOCTOR PRIESTLY FOUND IN THE TRAP .., by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE MOUSE'S PETITION TO DOCTOR PRIESTLY FOUND IN THE TRAP .., by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Oh! Hear a pensive captive's [or, prisoner's] prayer
Last Line: And break the hidden snare.
Alternate Author Name(s): Aikin, Anna Letitia
Variant Title(s): The Mouse's Petition Found In The Trap, Where He Had Been Confined
Subject(s): Mice


OH! hear a pensive prisoner's prayer,
For liberty that sighs;
And never let thine heart be shut
Against the wretch's cries.

For here forlorn and sad I sit,
Within the wiry grate;
And tremble at th' approaching morn,
Which brings impending fate.

If e'er thy breast with freedom glow'd,
And spurn'd a tyrant's chain,
Let not thy strong oppressive force
A free-born mouse detain.

Oh! do not stain with guiltless blood
Thy hospitable hearth;
Nor triumph that thy wiles betray'd
A prize so little worth.

The scatter'd gleanings of a feast
My frugal meals supply;
But if thine unrelenting heart
That slender boon deny,

The cheerful light, the vital air,
Are blessings widely given;
Let nature's commoners enjoy
The common gifts of heaven.

The well-taught philosophic mind
To all compassion gives;
Casts round the world an equal eye,
And feels for all that lives.

If mind, as ancient sages taught,
A never dying flame,
Still shifts through matter's varying forms,
In every form the same,

Beware, lest in the worm you crush
A brother's soul you find;
And tremble lest thy luckless hand
Dislodge a kindred mind.

Or, if this transient gleam of day
Be all of life we share,
Let pity plead within thy breast
That little all to spare.

So may thy hospitable board
With health and peace be crown'd;
And every charm of heartfelt ease
Beneath thy roof be found.

So, when destruction lurks unseen,
Which men like mice may share,
May some kind angel clear thy path,
And break the hidden snare.








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