| James and Mary Ford, eds. Every Day in the Year. 1902. | | | | July 31 | | Sir Walter Raleigh to a Caged Linnet | | By Eugene Lee Hamilton (1845–1907) |
| | | | Raleigh was imprisoned in the Tower, July 31, 1603. |
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THOU tiny solace of these prison days, | |
| Too long already have I kept thee here; | |
| With every week thou hast become more dear— | |
| So dear that I will free thee: fly thy ways. | |
| Man, the alternate slave and tyrant, lays | 5 |
| Too soon on others what he has to bear. | |
| Thy cage is in my cage; but, never fear, | |
| The sun once more shall bathe thee with its rays. | |
| Fly forth, and tell the sunny woods how oft | |
| I think of them, and stretch my limbs in thought | 10 |
| Upon their fragrant mosses green and soft; | |
| And whistle all the whistlings God hath taught | |
| Thy throat, to other songsters high aloft— | |
| Not to a captive who can answer naught. | | | |
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