Poems (Cromwell)/Manumission
For works with similar titles, see Manumission.
MANUMISSION
Oh, you are free! When you are satisfied,
When you have all my love can give you here,
I shall not keep you. Go! No faltering fear
Of mine shall hinder you from searching wide
Unguarded ways, forbid your spirit glide
Beyond the harboured safety of each year
In which I've loved you. Now you are so near
That all your dreams are mine. You cannot hide
The faintest dawning of your thought. How should
You spare me when you go? Yet you are free,
Oh, you are free, to change or to progress!
So be it when you shall turn quietly
Away from me, you have but understood
Your love can leave no room for loneliness.
When you have all my love can give you here,
I shall not keep you. Go! No faltering fear
Of mine shall hinder you from searching wide
Unguarded ways, forbid your spirit glide
Beyond the harboured safety of each year
In which I've loved you. Now you are so near
That all your dreams are mine. You cannot hide
The faintest dawning of your thought. How should
You spare me when you go? Yet you are free,
Oh, you are free, to change or to progress!
So be it when you shall turn quietly
Away from me, you have but understood
Your love can leave no room for loneliness.