Eugene Lee-Hamilton (1845–1907)

MY boyhood went: it went where went the trace

Left by the pony’s hoofs upon the sand;

It went where went the stream sought rod in hand;

It went where went the ice on the pond’s face.

Then went my youth: it went where Dawn doth chase

The ballroom’s lights away with pearly wand;

It went where went the echoes of the band;

It went where go the nights that steal Day’s place.

And now my manhood goes where goes the song

Of captive birds, the cry of crippled things;

It goes where goes the day that unused dies.

The cage is narrow and the bars are strong

In which my restless spirit beats its wings;

And round me stretch unfathomable skies.