A little bird I am,
Shut from the fields of air;
And in my cage I sit and sing
To him who placed me there;
Well pleased a prisoner to be,
Because, my God, it pleaseth thee.
Naught have I else to do;
I sing the whole day long;
And He whom most I love to please
Doth listen to my song;
He caught and bound my wandering wing,
But still he bends to hear me sing.
My cage confines me round,
Abroad I cannot fly;
But though my wings are closely bound
My heart's at liberty.
My prison walls cannot control
The flight, the freedom of my soul.
Oh, it is grand to soar
These bolts and bars above
To Him whose purpose I adore,
Whose providence I love!
And in thy mighty will to find
The joy, the freedom of the mind.
--Madame Guyon.