You held me as the harbor holds the tide Whose vagrant silver nestles in the grasp Of the gray rocks an hour, then slips in pride Back through the barrier shoal's detaining clasp. You held me as the earth the unborn flower Imprisoned with a miser's jealous care, Before the valiant sun's redeeming power Sets free its hidden beauty to the air. You held me as the nest the fledgling bird, But twigs and twisted grasses are not home. How had the rapture of my voice been heard Unless I sought the far sky's beckoning dome? There was a way to keep me and control, But no man's body binds a woman's soul. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE TRASH MEN by CHARLES BUKOWSKI THE CENTER OF GRAVITY by DAVID IGNATOW GENEVIEVE AND ALEXANDRA (2) by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON THE BLIND GOD by ISAAC ROSENBERG ILLINOIS FARMER by CARL SANDBURG |