Released! released! Yes, broken is the chain Which held the slavish heart in such duress That all but love seemed less than nothingness, And hell lurked in a woman's least disdain, And heaven linked itself with her caress! An end, at last, to vows that plight in vain And make a mockery of love to gain Pride's pitiable fee—or something less! An end to explanations which confess The meagerness of human trust, and drain The very founts of confidence—and pain! An end to joys and tortures none can guess Save he who struggles for love's sunlit height And gains, instead, scorn's stormy crags and night! |