A Little Bird I Am

"A little bird I am,
Shut from the fields of air;
And in my cage I sit and sing
To Him who placed me there;
Well pleased a prisoner to be,
_Because, my God, it pleases thee_.

"Nought have I else to do;
I sing the whole day long;
And He, whom most I love to please,
Does listen to my song;
He caught and bound my wandering wing,
But still he bends to hear me sing.

"You have an ear to hear;
A heart to love and bless;
And, though my notes were e'er so rude,
You would not hear the less;
Because though knowest as they fall,
That Love, sweet Love, inspires them all.

"My cage confines me round,
Abroad I cannot fly;
But, though my wing is closely bound,
My heart's at liberty.
My prison walls cannot control
The flight, the freedom of the soul.

"Oh! it is good to soar,
These bolts and bars above,
To Him whose purpose I adore,
Whose Providence I love;
And in your mighty will to find
The joy, the freedom of the mind."

Footnotes

¹ "A Little Bird I Am" is Guyon's most famous poem, written during her imprisonment. The caged bird sings not because it is free but because it belongs to its master. The poem has comforted countless believers in suffering — a hymn of trust from a woman who spent years in the Bastille for her faith.