CII

COULD I but ride indefinite,

As doth the meadow-bee,

And visit only where I liked,

And no man visit me,

 

And flirt all day with buttercups,

And marry whom I may,

And dwell a little everywhere,

Or better, run away

 

With no police to follow,

Or chase me if I do,

Till I should jump peninsulas

To get away from you,—

 

I said, but just to be a bee

Upon a raft of air,

And row in nowhere all day long,

And anchor off the bar,—

What liberty! So captives deem

Who tight in dungeons are.