SHE guards, not binds, coerces not, but
shields,
And o'er this proud though little land of Me,
Not an immediate governance she wields,
But a Protectorate and a Suzerainty.
Within her ambience, fetterless I dwell.
Under the still monition of her eye.
Not my custodian she, but sentinel,
And less a bound or barrier than a sky.
Therefore I keep, or strive to keep, her law.
While some break from her with insurgence
rude;
And as for these, when I looked forth and saw
Their liberty, then chose I servitude.
