HIGH walls and huge the body may confine, And iron gates obstruct the prisoner's gaze, And massive bolts may baffle his design, And vigilant keepers watch his devious ways; But scorns the immortal mind such base control: No chains can bind it and no cell enclose. Swifter than light it flies from pole to pole, And in a flash from earth to heaven it goes. It leaps from mount to mount; from vale to vale It wanders, plucking honeyed fruits and flowers; It visits home to hear the fireside tale And in sweet converse pass the joyous hours; 'T is up before the sun, roaming afar, And in its watches wearies every star. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE FIVE STUDENTS by THOMAS HARDY THE PRIMROSE by ROBERT HERRICK BITTER-SWEET: CRADLE SONG [OR, BABYHOOD] by JOSIAH GILBERT HOLLAND THE BATTLE OF NASEBY by THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY FIRST VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS by JOANNA BAILLIE TO BARON DE STONNE.....TO FIND HIMSELF BETWEEN by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD |