Part 9 (1/2)

I'm pardoned out. Again the stars s.h.i.+ne on me with their myriad eyes.

So long I've peered 'twixt iron bars, I'm awed by this expanse of skies.

The world is wider than I thought, And yet 'tis not so wide, I know, But into its remotest spot My tale of shame can go.

I'm pardoned out. Old Father Time Who seemed to halt in horror, when I stained my manhood by a crime, With steady step moves on again, And through the black appalling night, That walled me in a gloom accurst, The wonder of the morning light In sudden glory burst.

I'm pardoned out. I shall be known No more by number, but by name.

And yet each whispering wind has blown Abroad the story of my shame.

I dread to see men shrink away With startled looks of scorn or fear, When in life's crowded marts some day, That name falls on their ear.

I'm pardoned out, ah G.o.d! to roam Like some whipped dog among my kind.

I have no friends, I have no home, Save these bleak walls I leave behind.

How can I face the world of men, My comrades in the days of yore?

Oh! hide me in my cell again, And, warden, lock the door.

THE TIDES

Oh, vain is the stern protesting Of winds, when the tide runs high; And vainly the deep-sea waters Call out, as the waves speed by; For, deaf to the claim of the ocean, To the threat of the loud winds dumb, Past reef and bar, to sh.o.r.es afar, They rush when the hour is come.

Vainly the tempest thunders, Of uns.e.xed waves that roam, Away from the mid-sea calmness, Where Nature made their home.

For the voice of the great Moon-Mother, Has spoken and said, 'Be free.'

And the tide must go to the strong full flow, In the time of the perigee.

So vain is the cry of the masters, And vain the plea of the hearth; As the ranks of the strange New Woman Go sweeping across the earth.

They have come from hall and hovel, They have pushed through door and gate; On the world's highway they are crowded to-day, For the hour is the hour of fate.

Many are hurt in the crowding, The light of the home burns dim; And man is aghast at the changes, Though all can be traced to him.

They sat too long at the hearthstone, And sat too oft alone: And the silence spoke, and their souls awoke, And now they must claim their own.

Let no man hope to hinder, Let no man bid them pause: They are moved by a hidden purpose, They follow resistless laws.

And out of the wreck and chaos Of the order that used to be, A strong new race shall take its place In a world we are yet to see.

Oh, ever has man been leader, Yet failed as woman's guide.

It is better that she step forward, And take her place at his side.

For only from greater woman, May come the greater man, Through life's long quest they should walk abreast - As was meant by the primal plan.