Ode V. to Sylvia

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!