| Higginson and Bigelow, comps. American Sonnets. 1891. | | | | Freedom of the Mind | | By Wendell Phillips Garrison (1840–1907) |
| | | 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! | 5 |
| No chains can bind it, and no cell inclose; | |
| 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, | |
| Or, in sweet converse, pass the joyous hours. | |
| ’T is up before the sun, roaming afar, | |
| And, in its watches, wearies every star! | | | | |
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