Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895.
Eugene Lee-Hamilton b. 1845Sir Walter Raleigh to a Caged Linnet
T
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
Too soon on others what he hath 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
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 nought.