OH ! hear a pensive captive's prayer, <br />For liberty that sighs; <br />And never let thine heart be shut <br />Against the prisoner's cries. <br /> <br />For here forlorn and sad I sit, <br />Within the wiry grate; <br />And tremble at th' approaching morn, <br />Which brings impending fate. <br /> <br />If e'er thy breast with freedom glow'd, <br />And spurn'd a tyrant's chain, <br />Let not thy strong oppressive force <br />A free-born mouse detain. <br /> <br />Oh ! do not stain with guiltless blood <br />Thy hospitable hearth; <br />Nor triumph that thy wiles betray'd <br />A prize so little worth. <br /> <br />The scatter'd gleanings of a feast <br />My scanty meals supply; <br />But if thine unrelenting heart <br />That slender boon deny, <br /> <br />The chearful light, the vital air, <br />Are blessings widely given; <br />Let nature's commoners enjoy <br />The common gifts of heaven. <br /> <br />The well taught philosophic mind <br />To all compassion gives; <br />Casts round the world an equal eye, <br />And feels for all that lives. <br /> <br />If mind, as ancient sages taught, <br />A never dying flame, <br />Still shifts thro' matter's varying forms, <br />In every form the same, <br /> <br />Beware, lest in the worm you crush <br />A brother's soul you find; <br />And tremble lest thy luckless hand <br />Dislodge a kindred mind. <br /> <br />Or, if this transient gleam of day <br />Be all of life we share, <br />Let pity plead within thy breast, <br />That little all to spare. <br /> <br />So may thy hospitable board <br />With health and peace be crown'd; <br />And every charm of heartfelt ease <br />Beneath thy roof be found. <br /> <br />So when unseen destruction lurks, <br />Which men like mice may share, <br />May some kind angel clear thy path, <br />And break the hidden snare.<br /><br />Anna Laetitia Barbauld<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-mouse-s-petition-2/
