I. THE TURNING

The pathway opened before her eyes

Between black leaves —

She laughed, and shivered, and turned aside

From the dusty road.

Her feet moved on like heart-beats,

She could not stop them;

Relentlessly each step fulfilled itself

And the steps behind it —

A hidden chain, drawing her onward

Captive.

And yet she said: “Now I walk free

At last!”