Henry Theodore Tuckerman (1813–1871)

FREEDOM! beneath thy banner I was born.

O, let me share thy full and perfect life!

Teach me opinion’s slavery to scorn,

And to be free from passion’s bitter strife;

Free of the world, a self-dependent soul,

Nourished by lofty aims and genial truth,

And made more free by love’s serene control,

The spell of beauty and the hopes of youth:

The liberty of Nature let me know,

Caught from her mountains, groves, and crystal streams;

Her starry host, and sunset’s purple glow,

That woo the spirit with celestial dreams,

On fancy’s wing exultingly to soar,

Till life’s harsh fetters clog the heart no more!