270. To Althea from Prison by Richard Lovelace
b"R Lovelace read by Classic Poetry Aloud:\\nhttp://www.classicpoetryaloud.com/\\n\\nGiving voice to the poetry of the past.\\n\\n---------------------------------------------\\n\\nTo Althea from Prison\\nby Richard Lovelace (1618 \\u2013 1657)\\n\\nWhen Love with unconfined wings\\n Hovers within my gates,\\nAnd my divine Althea brings\\n To whisper at the grates;\\nWhen I lie tangled in her hair,\\n And fetter'd to her eye,\\nThe gods, that wanton in the air,\\n Know no such liberty.\\n\\n\\nWhen flowing cups run swiftly round\\n With no allaying Thames,\\nOur careless heads with roses bound,\\n Our hearts with loyal flames;\\nWhen thirsty grief in wine we steep,\\n When healths and draughts go free,\\nFishes, that tipple in the deep,\\n Know no such liberty.\\n\\n\\nWhen (like committed linnets) I\\n With shriller throat shall sing\\nThe sweetness, mercy, majesty,\\n And glories of my king;\\nWhen I shall voice aloud how good\\n He is, how great should be,\\nEnlarged winds, that curl the flood,\\n Know no such liberty.\\n\\n\\nStone walls do not a prison make,\\n Nor iron bars a cage;\\nMinds innocent and quiet take\\n That for an hermitage;\\nIf I have freedom in my love,\\n And in my soul am free,\\nAngels alone that soar above,\\n Enjoy such liberty.\\n\\nFor hundreds more poetry readings, visit the Classic Poetry Aloud index.\\n\\nReading \\xa9 Classic Poetry Aloud 2008"