The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-08-04
Spirits In Prison


~ We who. prisoned in these festive
rooms,
" Lean at the windows for breath
of air
Staring upon the darkness that o erglooms
The heavens and waiting for the stars
to bare
Their glittering glories. yelled all night
in cloud
know We scorn the gaslights and the
FEAST
1 saw you leave the music and the crowd
And turn unto the windows opening
east
He went and preached unto the
spirits in prison"
Prisoners are we all. The vast throng
dwells in dungeons and knows no light.
The fewest have in dreams caught
CLEANS of other lights, radiant. daz-
zling to the purblind eyes. The vision
is of a fadeless light outside the prison
walls. With straining eyes they gaze
through the windows looking eastward.
But the windows are barred. They
bruise their hands in vain.
The prison is the Gaol Of Circum-
stance. 1913 81 a .s.-... rass.s4 s-.a
o my brothers, my sisters. We
know each other, we who have
striven in vain to break the bonds
and go free yet strive on! We pass
each other and touch hands in the
crowd that knows not. and the real soul
within thrills, for soul hath touched
soul. and each hath understood. Some
times we may not touch hands. The
crowd moves too fast. We only look
into each others eyes and say to our
selves, Here is a soul that understands!
soul, 1 know thy aspiration. noble
and true-aspiration now, it may be.
with scarce hope of fulfillment. / read
~ he nd nd in
express, for in thy prison thou art
chained to the treadmill that grinds out
bread for others. Oh, to be free, freei
Thou too my sister, Thy dream
| is of interpreta ton. of showing forth to
the prisoned multitude the meaning OF
its own joys and SORROWS of its own
dumb. weak aspiring. Before thee day
and night floats the vision 1t thrills
thee with a power that tugs at brain
and heart. Its light makes the life of all
the prisoned mean and dull. Yea, it is
mean and dull. 1 know thee! Thy
chains are the heaviest. cruelest, of all.
for they are the conventionalities Of
the common mind. Thou art not strong
enough to break them? Heaven help
thee. Back to thy jail. o girl! Look
not even out betwixt the bars.
Thou. o my brother, my sister. thou
with thy great drama unexpressed. thy
soul unsung, thy picture implanted.
whoever thou art, wherever. with thy
! lifcs splendid ideal unattained. know
! thee! l know you all. every one. I
hear your souls voices, soundless save
to the ears of us who know, chanting
ever and evermore the droning. melan-
choly fugue of the maintaining.
In the off spells of the treadmill, o
my brother. my sister / see you glide
/ f1,n Of he
knowing. l see you turn from them.
! Silent you sit in the circus silent amid
the kangaroo hand shaking, the affected
voices that squeak artificial sympathy
They are not for you. You cannot
breathe their air. Oh, to be out Of
prison. where men are free and real and
true. where hearts are not crushed and
where worthy aspiration is fulfilled!
yet. O my brothers. we who cannot
share
This life of lies, this sitting day in
Know we not well thatif we did but dare
Break from our cell and trust our man
hoods might.
If once our feet should venture on these
The night would prove a sweet. still
solitude
Not dark for eyes that earnest as
strove through the chaos but for truth
/ and good?
Dark is the night but we are not the
who break from the enchanters' evil
spells.
! Though they pursue US with their SCOTS
and darts.
Though they allure us with their siren
song.
Trust We alone the light within our
4 hearts,
Forth to the airl Freedom will dawn ara
/ longr'
ELIZA ARCHARD CONNER