The Release
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
To-day within a grog-shop near
I saw a newly captured linnet,
Who beat against his cage in fear,
And fell exhausted every minute;
And when I asked the fellow there
If he to sell the bird were willing,
He told me with a careless air
That I could have it for a shilling.
And so I bought it, cage and all
(Although I went without my dinner),
And where some trees were fairly tall
And houses shrank and smoke was thinner,
The tiny door I open threw,
As down upon the grass I sank me:
Poor little chap! How quick he flew . . .
He didn't even wait to thank me.
Life's like a cage; we beat the bars,
We bruise our breasts, we struggle vainly;
Up to the glory of the stars
We strain with flutterings ungainly.
And then -- God opens wide the door;
Our wondrous wings are arched for flying;
We poise, we part, we sing, we soar . . .
Light, freedom, love. . . . Fools call it -- Dying.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 51 sec read
- 50 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AXAXBCBC DEDEFGFG HGHGICIC |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 859 |
Words | 169 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
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"The Release" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/32628/the-release>.
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