Gathering violets and dandelions, unhindered,
As the little children gather dandelions with laughter
And braid corn-flowers into crowns ;
As the maidens gather roses, which because of their sweet
odor They place in their bosoms. Leaving blood upon the thorns.
TRUTH: So Love shall wander in the garden, utterly unhindered ; Choosing freely and discarding freely.
POET: Oh, Truth, I am sick of heart and cannot sing. Shall I sing of Liberty when there is no Liberty? Shall I sing of Freedom when there is none? Shall I sing love-songs to young lovers who are slaves? My soul thrills even as I think the laburnum In Spring-time thrills to Hnk her chains of gold. I am lost in the great miracle which Nature Has endlessly wrought out of freedom. But Man sits amid his own ruins, eating husks. Do the slavish ones perceive the mysterious cycles, Or the coming of new leaves? Do they know that life may be glad for all And love glad for all? For them the Earth is only a grave. Do the men and women cheated of their own souls Know the unwearied freedom of the great Nurser? They love by law and they unlove by law. But I perceive the gray and drifting sky freely Enfolding the strong hills, as women enfold strong men.
TRUTH: The robins build homes in the maples for love And the swallows under the eaves ; Their nests are frail things, but the foundations are strong.
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