Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


AFTER WINGS by SARAH MORGAN BRYAN PIATT

Poet Analysis

First Line: THIS WAS YOUR BUTTERFLY, YOU SEE
Last Line: TO BE A WORM AGAIN!

THIS was your butterfly, you see, --
His fine wings made him vain:
The caterpillars crawl, but he
Passed them in rich disdain. --
My pretty boy says, "Let him be
Only a worm again!"

O child, when things have learned to wear
Wings once, they must be fain
To keep them always high and fair:
Think of the creeping pain
Which even a butterfly must bear
To be a worm again!



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