Bliss Carman, et al., eds. The World’s Best Poetry.
Volume VIII. National Spirit. 1904. | | | | II. Freedom | | Freedom of the Mind | | William Lloyd Garrison (1805–1879) |
| | Written While in Prison for Denouncing the Domestic Slave-Trade |
|
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: | 5 |
| 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; | 10 |
| 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. | | | |
|
|
|
