To A Butterfly

William Wordsworth 1770 (Wordsworth House) – 1850 (Cumberland)



STAY near me---do not take thy flight!
A little longer stay in sight!
Much converse do I find I thee,
Historian of my infancy !
Float near me; do not yet depart!
Dead times revive in thee:
Thou bring'st, gay creature as thou art!
A solemn image to my heart,
My father's family!

Oh! pleasant, pleasant were the days,
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 spring
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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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 01, 2023

33 sec read
456

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABBCBCCB DDEEFXXFX
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 567
Words 110
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 9, 9

William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth was the husband of Eva Bartok. more…

All William Wordsworth poems | William Wordsworth Books

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