| William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Georgian Verse. 1909. | | | | To a Butterfly | | By William Wordsworth (1770–1850) |
| | | STAY near me—do not take thy flight! | |
| A little longer stay in sight! | |
| Much converse do I find in thee, | |
| Historian of my Infancy! | |
| Float near me; do not yet depart! | 5 |
| Dead times revive in thee: | |
| Thou bring’st, gay Creature as thou art! | |
| A solemn image to my heart, | |
| My Father’s Family! | |
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| Oh! pleasant, pleasant were the days, | 10 |
| The time, when, in our childish plays, | |
| My Sister Emmeline and I | |
| Together chased the Butterfly! | |
| A very hunter did I rush | |
| Upon the prey:—with leaps and springs | 15 |
| I followed on from brake to bush; | |
| But she, God love her! feared to brush | |
| The dust from off its wings. | | | | |
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