Felicia Hemans in The New Monthly Magazine Volume 43 1835/Thoughts During Sickness V. Flight of the Spirit

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The New Monthly Magazine, Volume 43, Page 330


V.
Flight of the Spirit.

Whither, oh! whither wilt thou wing thy way?
What solemn region first upon thy sight
Shall break, unveil'd for terror or delight?
What hosts, magnificent in dread array?
My spirit! where thy prison-house of clay
After long strife is rent?—Fond, fruitless quest!
The unfledged bird, within his narrow nest,
Sees but a few green branches o'er him play,
And thro' their parting leaves, by fits reveal'd,
A glimpse of summer sky: nor knows the field
Wherein his dormant powers must yet be tried:—
Thou art that bird! of what beyond thee lies
Far in th' untrack'd, immeasurable skies

Knowing but this—that thou shalt find thy Guide!