Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


PRISON SONG by WILLIAM ALEXANDER PERCY

First Line: BEAT, BEAT, WINGS OF MY HEART
Last Line: FOR BETWEEN -- THE IRON BARS.
Subject(s): BIRDS; HEARTS; PRISONS & PRISONERS; SINGING & SINGERS;

Beat, beat, wings of my heart,
Stormy and swift as you will!
Beat and break, but the walls of the world
Will hold you captive still.

Oh, the bird of the moon flies into the west
To dip in the sun's lagoon,
And, following her, the wild geese blur
In the depths of a golden swoon.

But, heart of mine, O bird of my heart,
Tho' they curve to the sunken stars,
You follow not with the strain of your wings,
For between -- the iron bars.



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