Lost Tears

My boyhood went: it went where went the trace
Left by the pony's hoofs upon the sand;
It went where went the stream sought rod in hand;
It went where went the ice on the pond's face.
Then went my youth: it went where Dawn doth chase
The ballroom's lights away with pearly wand;
It went where went the echoes of the band;
It went where go the nights that steal Day's place.

And now my manhood goes where goes the song
Of captive birds, the cry of crippled things;
It goes where goes the day that unused dies.
The cage is narrow and the bars are strong
In which my restless spirit beats its wings;
And round me stretch unfathomable skies.