Volume 19 — The Butterfly.
Reading edition
From The French Of Marie Jenna.
Why silently draw near
And menace my joyous flight?
What is there in my gay career
That can offend your sight?
I am only a vivid beam,
Flitting now here, now there,
A wingéd gem, a fairy dream,
A flower that the breeze may bear.
The brother of the rose,
In her breast I shun the storm;
On her soft bosom I repose,
And drink her perfume warm.
My life is a transient thing,
Why mar its glad estate?
Answer me, O creation's king!
Art envious of my fate?
Nay, hear me while I pray:
Elsewhere thy footsteps bend;
Let me live at least one happy day,
Thou that shalt never end!
[pg 187]