Could I but Ride Indefinite
poem 661
Could I but ride indefinite As doth the Meadow Bee And visit only where I liked And No one visit me And flirt all Day with Buttercups And marry whom I may And dwell a little everywhere Or better, run away With no Police to follow Or chase Him if He do Till He should jump Peninsulas To get away from me I said But just to be a Bee Upon a Raft of Air And row in Nowhere all Day long And anchor off the Bar What Liberty! So Captives deem Who tight in Dungeons are.
Could I but Ride Indefinite - meaning Summary
Yearning for Unconstrained Freedom
This short poem speaks of a speaker’s longing for unbounded, playful freedom. Imagining life as a meadow bee or a raft on air, the speaker pictures visiting wherever desired, flirting with flowers, marrying freely, and escaping pursuit or social constraint. The images contrast light, mobile pleasure with confinement; the final lines make liberty relative by comparing it to the captive’s dream. The tone blends whimsy and wistfulness, using small domestic and natural scenes to express a wish to evade obligation and intrusion in favor of solitary, wandering autonomy.
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