But one thing, Earth, one thing thou canst not bind;
Thou canst not fetter the immortal mind.
The soul defies thy will and breaks thy bands
Bursts through thy bars and flees from thy commands,
Thy gold and gems are safe within thy grasp
But, lo, the spirit slips from out thy clasp;
Soars on its sunbright wings to cloudless spheres
Nor glances backward to thy realm of tears;
Chained in thy prison cells or dungeons deep
Where sentinels their sleepless vigil keep,
On fearless pinions plumed for holier air,
They pass thy prison-gates, nor tarry there.
Thou canst not fetter the immortal mind.
The soul defies thy will and breaks thy bands
Bursts through thy bars and flees from thy commands,
Thy gold and gems are safe within thy grasp
But, lo, the spirit slips from out thy clasp;
Soars on its sunbright wings to cloudless spheres
Nor glances backward to thy realm of tears;
Chained in thy prison cells or dungeons deep
Where sentinels their sleepless vigil keep,
On fearless pinions plumed for holier air,
They pass thy prison-gates, nor tarry there.
Consigned to marble tombs, hid in the deep
No plan of thine thy richest prize may keep;
The soul of deathless and imperial birth
This grandest treasure is not thine, oh Earth!
What is thy hoarded wealth and boasted power?
What is thy rarest charm or richest dower,
When one bright gem that flashes on thy shore
Shall live and reign when thou shalt be no more?
No plan of thine thy richest prize may keep;
The soul of deathless and imperial birth
This grandest treasure is not thine, oh Earth!
What is thy hoarded wealth and boasted power?
What is thy rarest charm or richest dower,
When one bright gem that flashes on thy shore
Shall live and reign when thou shalt be no more?
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