669. After Wings by Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt. Stedman, Edmund Clarence, ed. 1900. An American Anthology, 1787-1900

Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

669. After Wings

By Sarah Morgan Bryan Piatt


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	5
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	10
Which even a butterfly must bear
To be a worm again!