And pierce the clouds beyond their sight.
But, ah! like a poor prisoner bound,
My string confines me near the ground.
I'd brave the eagle's towering wing,
Might I but fly without a string."
It tugg'd and pull'd, while thus it spoke,
To break the string—at last it broke!
Deprived at once of all its stay,
In vain it tried to soar away:
Unable its own weight to bear,