Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, FOR A DESIGN OF A BUTTERFLY RESTING ON A SKULL, by FELICIA DOROTHEA HEMANS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

FOR A DESIGN OF A BUTTERFLY RESTING ON A SKULL, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Creature of air and light
Last Line: Thy hope calls heavenward from yon ruined cell.
Alternate Author Name(s): Browne, Felicia Dorothea
Subject(s): Butterflies; Insects; Bugs


CREATURE of air and light,
Emblem of that which may not fade or die,
Wilt thou not speed thy flight,
To chase the south wind through the glowing sky?
What lures thee thus to stay,
With Silence and Decay,
Fixed on the wreck of cold Mortality?

The thoughts once chambered there
Have gathered up their treasures and are
Will the dust tell us where
They that have burst the prison-house are gone --
Rise, nursling of the day,
If thou wouldst trace their way -- flown?
Earth hath no voice to make the secret known.

Who seeks the vanished bird
By the forsaken nest and broken shell? --
Far thence he sings unheard,
Yet free and joyous in the woods to dwell,
Thou of the sunshine born,
Take the bright wings of morn!
Thy hope calls heavenward from yon ruined cell.





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