Hast thou not seen some captive bird
Impatient flit within the wire,
And seek the bliss of liberty,
With anxious fond desire?
Or hast thou not beheld, in chains,
Some poor unhappy pris’ner pine?
E’en such a wretched slave am I,
E’en such hard fetters mine.
But yet from these I differ too,
For they would cast their chains away,
While I exult to wear the badge
Of thy unpitying sway.
Then deign, fair nymph, one smile of love,
One ray of ruddy hope impart!
O, give this life the pow’r to live,
And heal the wounded heart!
This work is in the public domain in Australia because it was created in Australia and the term of copyright has expired.
See Australian Copyright Council - Duration of Copyright (January 2019).
This work is also in the public domain in the United States because it was in the public domain in Australia in 1996, and no copyright was registered in the U.S. (This is the combined effect of Australia having joined the Berne Convention in 1928, and of 17 USC 104A with its critical date of January 1, 1996.)
