The Freeman

Ellen Glasgow

http://www.blackmask.com

   "Hope is a slave; Despair is a freeman."

A VAGABOND between the East and West,
   Careless I greet the scourging and the rod;
I fear no terror any man may bring,
    Nor any god.

The clankless chains that bound me I have rent,
   No more a slave to Hope I cringe or cry;
Captives to Fate men rear their prison walls,
     But free am I.

I tread where arrows press upon my path,
   I smile to see the danger and the dart;
My breast is bared to meet the slings of Hate,
     But not my heart.

I face the thunder and I face the rain,
   I lift my head, defiance far I fling, —
My feet are set, I face the autumn as
     I face the spring.

Around me on the battlefields of life,
   I see men fight and fail and crouch in prayer;
Aloft I stand unfettered, for I know
     The freedom of despair.

Ellen Glasgow