Freedom for the Mind

High walls and huge the body may confine, And iron grates obstruct the prisoner’s gaze, And massive bolts may baffle his design, And vigilant keepers watch his devious ways: Yet scorns the immortal mind this base control! 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; It visits home, to hear the fireside tale, Or in sweet converse pass the joyous hours. ’T is up before the sun, roaming afar, And, in its watches, wearies every star!

Collection: 

More from Poet

  • 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: No...

  • High walls and huge the body may confine, And iron grates obstruct the prisoner’s gaze, And massive bolts may baffle his design, And vigilant keepers watch his devious ways: Yet scorns the immortal mind this base control! No chains can bind it, and no cell enclose: Swifter than light, it flies...

  • They tell me, Liberty! that in thy name I may not plead for all the human race; That some are born to bondage and disgrace, Some to a heritage of woe and shame, And some to power supreme, and glorious fame: With my whole soul I spurn the doctrine base, And, as an equal brotherhood, embrace All...